Tobam Sells 143,161 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Tobam lowered its position in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 56.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 109,443 shares of the company's stock after selling 143,161 shares during the quarter. Tobam's holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $3,433,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in HRL. Greenleaf Trust boosted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 8,029 shares of the company's stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 9,649 shares of the company's stock worth $306,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the period. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Hormel Foods by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,445 shares of the company's stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the period. New Century Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Hormel Foods by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 6,738 shares of the company's stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC raised its holdings in Hormel Foods by 4.8% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 9,108 shares of the company's stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Hormel Foods

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HRL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Monday, October 21st. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. Barclays upgraded Hormel Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hormel Foods currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $31.17.

Hormel Foods Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Hormel Foods stock traded up $0.03 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $28.90. The stock had a trading volume of 806,421 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,757,774. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market capitalization of $15.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.79, a P/E/G 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $31.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.36.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.14 billion. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 10.95% and a net margin of 6.75%. The company's revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.42 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 13th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 13th. This is a boost from Hormel Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.01%. Hormel Foods's 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.