Advisors Asset Management Inc. Trims Position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 69.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,451 shares of the company’s stock after selling 26,593 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $363,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 15.4% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,089,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,210,000 after acquiring an additional 412,313 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 24.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,976,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,738,000 after buying an additional 575,378 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Hormel Foods by 0.4% during 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 buying an additional 6,315 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 742,859 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vest Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 26.1% in the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 1,560,847 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,479,000 after acquiring an additional 322,645 shares during the period. 40.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

NYSE:HRL opened at $31.92 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $30.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.66. The stock has a market cap of $17.50 billion, a PE ratio of 22.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 2.29. Hormel Foods Co. has a one year low of $28.51 and a one year high of $36.86.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 6.52%. The business had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 13th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 13th. This is a positive change from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is presently 79.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on HRL shares. BNP Paribas started coverage on Hormel Foods in a research report on Monday, October 21st. They set an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 price target on the stock. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hormel Foods presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.29.

Insider Activity at Hormel Foods

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

Hormel Foods Company 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.