Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Sells 16,967 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC trimmed its holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 61.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,642 shares of the company's stock after selling 16,967 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC's holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $334,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of HRL. Holocene Advisors LP raised its holdings in Hormel Foods by 56.0% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 2,237,674 shares of the company's stock valued at $70,934,000 after acquiring an additional 802,816 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 742,859 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Hormel Foods by 2.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,068,102 shares of the company's stock worth $794,659,000 after purchasing an additional 617,308 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 24.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,976,257 shares of the company's stock valued at $90,738,000 after buying an additional 575,378 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Hormel Foods by 59.1% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,244,448 shares of the company's stock worth $37,470,000 after acquiring an additional 462,283 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Steven J. Lykken purchased 4,904 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $32.47 per share, for a total transaction of $159,232.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $230,537. This trade represents a 223.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HRL traded up $0.04 during trading on Monday, reaching $29.93. The stock had a trading volume of 2,515,109 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,918,130. The business's 50-day moving average price is $31.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 1.19. Hormel Foods Co. has a 52 week low of $28.51 and a 52 week high of $36.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.43 billion, a PE ratio of 20.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.26.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 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 firm had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business 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, equities analysts predict that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, January 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.88%. This is a positive change from Hormel Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 13th. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HRL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stephens started coverage on Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $31.00 target price for the company. Citigroup reduced their price target on 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, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Monday, October 21st. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $28.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $31.00.

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.