Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Grows Stock Holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 33.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 46,186 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,550 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $1,465,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 9.9% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 5,638,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $196,729,000 after purchasing an additional 505,942 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 15.4% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,089,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,210,000 after buying an additional 412,313 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Hormel Foods by 24.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,976,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,738,000 after acquiring an additional 575,378 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Hormel Foods by 0.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,772,481 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,043,000 after acquiring an additional 6,315 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in Hormel Foods by 86.4% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,602,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,867,000 after acquiring an additional 742,859 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of HRL stock opened at $30.55 on Friday. Hormel Foods Co. has a twelve month low of $28.51 and a twelve 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $31.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.27. The company has a market capitalization of $16.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.25.

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

Hormel Foods Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be issued a $0.282 dividend. This represents a $1.13 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is presently 79.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup upgraded Hormel Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. BNP Paribas started coverage on Hormel Foods in a report on Monday, October 21st. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stephens began coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 target price on the stock. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Hormel Foods has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 directly owns 39,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,276,935. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $1,276,935. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Deanna T. Brady sold 51,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.95, for a total transaction of $1,648,620.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 72,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,313,850.95. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 71,400 shares of company stock worth $2,288,338. Company 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.