Grandfield & Dodd LLC Purchases 26,390 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Grandfield & Dodd LLC raised its stake in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 2.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 924,365 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 26,390 shares during the period. Hormel Foods comprises about 1.7% of Grandfield & Dodd LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Grandfield & Dodd LLC owned 0.17% of Hormel Foods worth $29,302,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 4.4% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 818,417 shares of the company's stock worth $25,944,000 after buying an additional 34,589 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in Hormel Foods by 26.2% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 735,246 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,418,000 after purchasing an additional 152,800 shares during the last quarter. Appian Way Asset Management LP acquired a new position in Hormel Foods during the 2nd quarter valued at about $11,811,000. Truist Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 110.8% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 37,228 shares of the company's stock worth $1,135,000 after purchasing an additional 19,571 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 4.4% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 404,445 shares of the company's stock worth $14,112,000 after purchasing an additional 17,208 shares during the period. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HRL traded up $0.49 on Wednesday, reaching $30.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,545,003 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,591,085. Hormel Foods Co. has a 52-week low of $28.51 and a 52-week high of $36.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 2.29. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.81. The company has a market cap of $16.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.95, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.26.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.52% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th were issued a $0.282 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $1.13 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on HRL shares. Stephens began coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup cut their price target on Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, 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 target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hormel Foods presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $31.29.

Insider Transactions at Hormel Foods

In other news, VP Steven J. Lykken sold 9,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.91, for a total transaction of $312,718.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 30,589 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $976,094.99. This trade represents a 24.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,050 shares in the company, valued at $1,276,935. This represents a 20.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 71,400 shares of company stock worth $2,288,338. Insiders own 0.69% of the company's stock.

Hormel Foods 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.