Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Holdings Boosted by Mizuho Markets Americas LLC

Mizuho Markets Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 75.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 146,090 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 62,841 shares during the period. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC's holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $4,691,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Hormel Foods by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,014,570 shares of the company's stock worth $228,734,000 after purchasing an additional 165,563 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Hormel Foods by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,059,847 shares of the company's stock worth $116,366,000 after purchasing an additional 172,110 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,510,004 shares of the company's stock valued at $95,455,000 after acquiring an additional 167,920 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,450,447 shares of the company's stock valued at $78,679,000 after acquiring an additional 56,189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 1,775,780 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,020,000 after acquiring an additional 81,970 shares in the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on HRL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, February 1st. They set a "neutral" rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $31.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hormel Foods news, VP Mark A. Coffey sold 15,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $539,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 68,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,381,015. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.95, for a total transaction of $349,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 38,708 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,352,844.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Mark A. Coffey sold 15,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $539,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 68,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,381,015. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 40,800 shares of company stock valued at $1,414,872 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.69% of the company's stock.

Hormel Foods Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of HRL stock traded up $0.22 on Friday, hitting $36.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,887,562 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,875,794. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Hormel Foods Co. has a fifty-two week low of $28.51 and a fifty-two week high of $41.73. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $34.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.28.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.91 billion. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.55% and a return on equity of 11.51%. The business's revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.40 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.59 EPS for the current year.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th were given a dividend of $0.2825 per share. This represents a $1.13 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 12th. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio is 77.40%.

Hormel Foods Company Profile

Hormel Foods Corporation develops, processes, and distributes various meat, nuts, and other food products to retail, foodservice, deli, and commercial customers in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Retail, Foodservice, and International segments. The company provides various perishable products that include fresh meats, frozen items, refrigerated meal solutions, sausages, hams, guacamoles, and bacons; and shelf-stable products comprising canned luncheon meats, nut butters, snack nuts, chili, shelf-stable microwaveable meals, hash, stews, tortillas, salsas, tortilla chips, nutritional food supplements, and others.

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