Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Acquires 16,444 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 35.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 62,630 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 16,444 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $1,991,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew 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 valued at $25,944,000 after purchasing an additional 34,589 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 13.1% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 452,510 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,345,000 after purchasing an additional 52,457 shares during the last quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC grew its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 2.9% during the third quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 924,365 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,302,000 after purchasing an additional 26,390 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 3.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,846,936 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,548,000 after purchasing an additional 66,261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,025,000. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Steven J. Lykken acquired 4,904 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $32.47 per share, for a total transaction of $159,232.88. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president now directly owns 7,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $230,537. The trade was a 223.32 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Hormel Foods Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE HRL traded down $0.08 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $28.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,791,084 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,820,439. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $30.83 and a 200 day moving average of $31.30. Hormel Foods Co. has a twelve month low of $28.27 and a twelve month high of $36.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.50, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.14 billion. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.75% and a return on equity of 10.95%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.42 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 13th. This is a positive change from Hormel Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.08%. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on HRL shares. Barclays raised shares of Hormel Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $31.17.

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.