Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 44,844 Shares of Hormel Foods Corporation $HRL

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) by 19.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 190,634 shares of the company’s stock after selling 44,844 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $3,801,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. SlateStone Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Hormel Foods by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 17,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $444,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 39,005 shares of the company’s stock valued at $968,000 after purchasing an additional 427 shares in the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG increased its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 90.7% in the second quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 986 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 2.1% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 23,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $592,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 57.5% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,455 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 531 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HRL traded down $0.65 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $21.95. 5,874,949 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,515,812. Hormel Foods Corporation has a 52 week low of $18.96 and a 52 week high of $26.60. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $20.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.08 billion, a PE ratio of 34.84, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.02. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 9.91% and a net margin of 2.82%. The firm had revenue of $2.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.35 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Hormel Foods Corporation will post 1.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 13th will be issued a $0.2925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 13th. This represents a $1.17 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.3%. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 185.71%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman William A. Newlands acquired 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $20.10 per share, for a total transaction of $201,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 76,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,535,137.50. The trade was a 15.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stephens set a $23.00 price objective on Hormel Foods in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Hormel Foods from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 28th. BNP Paribas Exane reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $23.00 price target (down from $26.00) on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $28.00 price objective (down from $30.00) on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hormel Foods presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.43.

Hormel Foods Company Profile

Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE: HRL) is a global food company headquartered in Austin, Minnesota. Founded in 1891 by George A. Hormel, the company began as a meat-processing business and has expanded into a broad portfolio of branded food products sold through retail, foodservice and international channels.

Its products include refrigerated and shelf-stable meats, meals, snacks and other prepared foods. Hormel Foods markets products under well-known brands such as Hormel, SPAM, Jennie-O, Applegate, Columbus, Skippy and Planters, although its brand portfolio and business operations may evolve over time.