XTX Topco Ltd Cuts Holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

XTX Topco Ltd lessened its stake in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 84.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,223 shares of the company's stock after selling 38,304 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd's holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $229,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 56.0% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 2,237,674 shares of the company's stock worth $70,934,000 after buying an additional 802,816 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 86.4% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,602,732 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,867,000 after acquiring an additional 742,859 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Hormel Foods by 2.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,068,102 shares of the company's stock worth $794,659,000 after acquiring an additional 617,308 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Hormel Foods by 24.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,976,257 shares of the company's stock worth $90,738,000 after acquiring an additional 575,378 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Hormel Foods by 59.1% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,244,448 shares of the company's stock worth $37,470,000 after acquiring an additional 462,283 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Steven J. Lykken acquired 4,904 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $32.47 per share, for a total transaction of $159,232.88. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president now directly owns 7,100 shares in the company, valued at $230,537. This trade represents a 223.32 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company's stock.

Hormel Foods Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE:HRL traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $31.68. 4,771,121 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,615,884. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.39 billion, a PE ratio of 21.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.26. Hormel Foods Co. has a 12-month low of $28.51 and a 12-month high of $36.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 2.32. The business has a 50-day moving average of $31.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.42.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.65 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This is a positive change from Hormel Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 13th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.66%. Hormel Foods's payout ratio is presently 79.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens began coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $31.00 price target 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 report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on Hormel Foods in a research report on Monday, October 21st. They set an "underperform" rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $31.29.

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.