Victory Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stake in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 908,086 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 72,941 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.17% of Hormel Foods worth $28,786,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in Hormel Foods by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 818,417 shares of the company's stock worth $25,944,000 after acquiring an additional 34,589 shares during the last quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC raised its position in Hormel Foods by 9.0% during the third quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 316,749 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,041,000 after purchasing an additional 26,226 shares in the last quarter. WealthPLAN Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. WealthPLAN Partners LLC now owns 162,465 shares of the company's stock worth $5,150,000 after purchasing an additional 15,040 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 485.0% during the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 19,169 shares of the company's stock valued at $608,000 after purchasing an additional 15,892 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Hormel Foods in the third quarter worth approximately $226,000. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hormel Foods Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Hormel Foods stock traded up $0.19 during trading on Monday, hitting $29.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,840,904 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,594,595. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $31.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.85. The company has a market capitalization of $16.12 billion, a PE ratio of 20.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.26.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 6.52%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.40 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Hormel Foods Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were given a dividend of $0.282 per share. This represents a $1.13 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. Hormel Foods's payout ratio is currently 79.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HRL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $31.00 target price on the stock. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Hormel Foods in a research note on Monday, October 21st. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $28.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $37.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Two 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Hormel Foods presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $31.57.

Insider Transactions at Hormel Foods

In related news, EVP Deanna T. Brady sold 51,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.95, for a total transaction of $1,648,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 72,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,313,850.95. This trade represents a 41.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 39,050 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,276,935. The trade was a 20.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 71,400 shares of company stock worth $2,288,338 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company's stock.

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.