Savant Capital LLC Has $1.23 Million Stock Holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Savant Capital LLC reduced its stake in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 29.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 39,239 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,260 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $1,231,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. WCM Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 43.1% in the fourth quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 10,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $319,000 after acquiring an additional 3,075 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC raised its stake in Hormel Foods by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 1,825,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,271,000 after purchasing an additional 264,813 shares in the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 25.0% in the 4th quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 16,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $525,000 after purchasing an additional 3,343 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 39,291 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,233,000 after purchasing an additional 849 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 13.6% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 929,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,170,000 after purchasing an additional 111,454 shares during the period. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HRL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays raised Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup decreased their price target on Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Monday, October 21st. They set an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hormel Foods

In other Hormel Foods news, VP Steven J. Lykken bought 4,904 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $32.47 per share, with a total value of $159,232.88. Following the acquisition, the vice president now directly owns 7,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $230,537. The trade was a 223.32 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

Hormel Foods stock opened at $28.47 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $15.63 billion, a PE ratio of 19.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Hormel Foods Co. has a 12-month low of $28.27 and a 12-month high of $36.86. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $30.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.30.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.01). Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 10.95% and a net margin of 6.75%. The company had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.42 earnings per share. Hormel Foods’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, January 13th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 13th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.08%. This is a positive change from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is currently 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.