Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Shares Purchased by Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 19.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 102,442 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 16,481 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC's holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $3,247,000 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 HRL. Holocene Advisors LP increased its stake in Hormel Foods by 56.0% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 2,237,674 shares of the company's stock worth $70,934,000 after acquiring an additional 802,816 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in Hormel Foods by 86.4% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,602,732 shares of the company's stock worth $48,867,000 after acquiring an additional 742,859 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 2.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,068,102 shares of the company's stock valued at $794,659,000 after buying an additional 617,308 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 24.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,976,257 shares of the company's stock valued at $90,738,000 after buying an additional 575,378 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 59.1% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,244,448 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,470,000 after buying an additional 462,283 shares in the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.70, for a total value of $327,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 39,050 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,276,935. This trade represents a 20.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Steven J. Lykken purchased 4,904 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $32.47 per share, for a total transaction of $159,232.88. Following the acquisition, the vice president now owns 7,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $230,537. The trade was a 223.32 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 71,400 shares of company stock valued at $2,288,338 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.69% of the company's stock.

Hormel Foods Stock Down 1.3 %

HRL traded down $0.42 on Wednesday, reaching $33.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,725,871 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,602,720. The stock has a market cap of $18.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.26. Hormel Foods Co. has a 1 year low of $28.51 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. The business's 50 day moving average is $31.16 and its 200 day moving average is $31.42.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.01). Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.75% and a return on equity of 10.95%. The business had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.65 EPS 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 dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 13th. This is an increase from Hormel Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.