Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Buys 111,454 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 13.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 929,871 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 111,454 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.17% of Hormel Foods worth $29,170,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Greenleaf Trust increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 8,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $252,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 3.7% during the third quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 9,649 shares of the company’s stock worth $306,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,445 shares of the company’s stock worth $422,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 6,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $211,000 after acquiring an additional 392 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 4.8% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 9,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $289,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on HRL. Barclays upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Monday, October 21st. They set an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Steven J. Lykken bought 4,904 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $32.47 per share, with a total value of $159,232.88. Following the acquisition, the vice president now owns 7,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $230,537. The trade was a 223.32 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

Shares of HRL stock opened at $28.99 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.85, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $31.04 and its 200 day moving average is $31.36. Hormel Foods Co. has a 12 month low of $28.51 and a 12 month high of $36.86.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.14 billion. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.75% and a return on equity of 10.95%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.42 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, January 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.00%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 13th. This is a positive change from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is 79.45%.

Hormel Foods 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.