Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Sells 28,691 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lowered its position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 34.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 54,928 shares of the company’s stock after selling 28,691 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $1,741,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 15.4% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,089,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,210,000 after purchasing an additional 412,313 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 24.0% during 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 during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 0.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,772,481 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,043,000 after buying an additional 6,315 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of 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. Finally, Vest Financial LLC grew its stake in Hormel Foods by 26.1% during the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 1,560,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,479,000 after acquiring an additional 322,645 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Steven J. Lykken sold 9,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.91, for a total transaction of $312,718.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 30,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $976,094.99. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.70, for a total transaction of $327,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 39,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,276,935. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Steven J. Lykken sold 9,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.91, for a total value of $312,718.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 30,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $976,094.99. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 71,400 shares of company stock worth $2,288,338 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

NYSE HRL opened at $30.39 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Hormel Foods Co. has a 52 week low of $28.51 and a 52 week high of $36.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.40, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a fifty day moving average of $31.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $32.01.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.95 billion. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.52% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.40 EPS. On average, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a $0.282 dividend. This represents a $1.13 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on HRL. Stephens started coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Hormel Foods in a research report on Monday, October 21st. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup raised Hormel Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.57.

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.