B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Takes $2.18 Million Position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 68,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,177,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of HRL. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 688.3% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 741 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Hormel Foods during the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the second quarter valued at about $37,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 516.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 1,132 shares during the period. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Deanna T. Brady sold 51,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $2,313,850.95. This trade represents a 41.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the business’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 transaction of $327,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 39,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,276,935. The trade was a 20.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 71,400 shares of company stock worth $2,288,338. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of Hormel Foods stock opened at $30.52 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Hormel Foods Co. has a 12-month low of $28.51 and a 12-month high of $36.86. The company has a market cap of $16.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.49, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.26. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.79.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.40 earnings per share. Hormel Foods’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.58 EPS for the current year.

Hormel Foods Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th were given a dividend of $0.282 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $1.13 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.70%. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on HRL shares. Stephens initiated coverage on Hormel Foods in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price objective for the company. 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 for the company. 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hormel Foods has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.29.

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.