Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Acquires 34,589 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 4.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 818,417 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 34,589 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $25,944,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 9.0% during the third quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 316,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,041,000 after buying an additional 26,226 shares during the last quarter. WealthPLAN Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. WealthPLAN Partners LLC now owns 162,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,150,000 after acquiring an additional 15,040 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 485.0% during the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 19,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $608,000 after purchasing an additional 15,892 shares in the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods in the 3rd quarter valued at $226,000. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the third quarter worth approximately $135,000. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Monday, October 21st. They set an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 price target on the stock. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup raised Hormel Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.57.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HRL opened at $29.21 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $31.23 and a 200-day moving average of $31.94. Hormel Foods Co. has a 12 month low of $28.51 and a 12 month high of $36.86. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.02 billion, a PE ratio of 20.57, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.26.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.95 billion. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.52% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.40 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th were paid a $0.282 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $1.13 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.86%. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is 79.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hormel Foods

In other Hormel Foods news, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.70, for a total value of $327,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 39,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,276,935. This trade represents a 20.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Steven J. Lykken sold 9,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.91, for a total transaction of $312,718.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 30,589 shares in the company, valued at $976,094.99. This represents a 24.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 71,400 shares of company stock worth $2,288,338. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

About Hormel Foods

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.