Geode Capital Management LLC Has $232.65 Million Stock Holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 1.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,362,658 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 120,212 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 1.34% of Hormel Foods worth $232,646,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of HRL. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Hormel Foods in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the second quarter worth $42,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Hormel Foods by 516.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 1,132 shares in the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Steven J. Lykken acquired 4,904 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $32.47 per share, with a total value of $159,232.88. Following the purchase, the vice president now owns 7,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $230,537. This represents a 223.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.70, for a total value of $327,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,276,935. The trade was a 20.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company's stock.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

Hormel Foods stock traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $32.94. 2,508,607 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,598,310. Hormel Foods Co. has a fifty-two week low of $28.51 and a fifty-two week high of $36.86. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market cap of $18.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.56, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.26. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $31.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.39.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.14 billion. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 10.95% and a net margin of 6.75%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast 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 paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This is a boost from Hormel Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 13th. Hormel Foods's payout ratio is currently 79.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HRL has been the topic of several research reports. BNP Paribas began coverage on Hormel Foods in a research note on Monday, October 21st. They set an "underperform" rating and a $28.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Stephens started coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $31.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $31.29.

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.