Hendershot Investments Inc. Sells 11,191 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Hendershot Investments Inc. cut its position in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 22.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,643 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,191 shares during the quarter. Hendershot Investments Inc.'s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $1,244,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of HRL. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Hormel Foods by 516.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the third quarter valued at $47,000. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HRL. Barclays upgraded Hormel Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. 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 started coverage on Hormel Foods in a research report on Monday, October 21st. They set an "underperform" rating and a $28.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hormel Foods currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $31.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hormel Foods

In related news, VP Steven J. Lykken purchased 4,904 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $32.47 per share, with a total value of $159,232.88. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,100 shares in the company, valued at $230,537. This trade represents a 223.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Hormel Foods Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE HRL traded down $0.45 on Wednesday, hitting $28.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,661,197 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,813,711. The firm has a market cap of $15.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.55, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.26. Hormel Foods Co. has a 52-week low of $28.51 and a 52-week high of $36.86. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $30.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.34. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 13th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.06%. 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 dividend payout ratio is 79.45%.

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.