Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Shares Acquired by Millennium Management LLC

Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 15.4% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,089,868 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 412,313 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $94,210,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HRL. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Hormel Foods by 63.7% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 39,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,267,000 after purchasing an additional 15,356 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Hormel Foods by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 106,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,418,000 after purchasing an additional 2,079 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in Hormel Foods during the fourth quarter worth approximately $831,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 200,874 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,450,000 after buying an additional 1,320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 32.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 38,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,225,000 after acquiring an additional 9,282 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HRL opened at $31.72 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $32.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.83. The company has a market cap of $17.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.25. Hormel Foods Co. has a 12-month low of $28.51 and a 12-month high of $38.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.01. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 6.52%. The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share. Hormel Foods’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.282 per share. This represents a $1.13 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Citigroup raised Hormel Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hormel Foods has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.33.

Insider Activity at Hormel Foods

In other Hormel Foods news, EVP Deanna T. Brady sold 51,600 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.95, for a total transaction of $1,648,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 72,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,313,850.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.70, for a total transaction of $327,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,276,935. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Deanna T. Brady sold 51,600 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.95, for a total value of $1,648,620.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 72,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,313,850.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.