Bridgewater Associates LP Sells 21,944 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Bridgewater Associates LP trimmed its position in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 22.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 75,302 shares of the company's stock after selling 21,944 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP's holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $2,387,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Hormel Foods by 688.3% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 741 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Hormel Foods during the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods in the second quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods in the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 40.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HRL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BNP Paribas began 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. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Stephens assumed 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $31.29.

Hormel Foods Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE HRL traded up $0.51 on Friday, hitting $32.43. 1,904,753 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,328,978. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Hormel Foods Co. has a twelve month low of $28.51 and a twelve month high of $36.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.26. The company's 50 day moving average price is $31.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.61.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $0.37 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 business had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 13th. This is a boost from Hormel Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Hormel Foods's payout ratio is 81.69%.

Insider Activity

In other Hormel Foods news, VP Steven J. Lykken sold 9,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.91, for a total value of $312,718.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 30,589 shares in the company, valued at $976,094.99. The trade was a 24.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Deanna T. Brady sold 51,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.95, for a total value of $1,648,620.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 71,400 shares of company stock worth $2,288,338 in the last 90 days. 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.