New York State Teachers Retirement System Sells 17,479 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

New York State Teachers Retirement System cut its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 241,074 shares of the company's stock after selling 17,479 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System's holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $7,562,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 47.5% during the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,981 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 638 shares during the period. 40.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Steven J. Lykken acquired 4,904 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $32.47 per share, with a total value of $159,232.88. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HRL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup cut their target price on Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $31.00 target price on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Tuesday. Two investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $31.17.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Hormel Foods stock traded up $0.78 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $29.63. The company had a trading volume of 1,161,611 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,778,995. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $30.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.17. The company has a market capitalization of $16.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.26. Hormel Foods Co. has a 1 year low of $28.03 and a 1 year high of $36.86. 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 (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 EPS 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.42 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, January 13th were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 13th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.91%. This is a positive change from Hormel Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.