Mather Group LLC. Has $13.35 Million Stock Holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Mather Group LLC. raised its position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 425,557 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,338 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. owned about 0.08% of Hormel Foods worth $13,350,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Holocene Advisors LP grew its holdings in Hormel Foods by 56.0% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 2,237,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,934,000 after purchasing an additional 802,816 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Hormel Foods by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,068,102 shares of the company’s stock valued at $794,659,000 after acquiring an additional 617,308 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 328.3% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 514,116 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,297,000 after purchasing an additional 394,068 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 26.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 1,560,847 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,479,000 after buying an additional 322,645 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in Hormel Foods by 5.2% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 3,267,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,570,000 after purchasing an additional 162,577 shares during the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Hormel Foods

In related news, VP Steven J. Lykken purchased 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $230,537. The trade was a 223.32 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HRL opened at $29.62 on Tuesday. Hormel Foods Co. has a 1-year low of $28.51 and a 1-year high of $36.86. The stock has a market cap of $16.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.26. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $31.36 and its 200 day moving average is $31.46. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last posted 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). The firm had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.14 billion. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.75% and a return on equity of 10.95%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.42 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, January 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 13th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.92%. This is a positive change from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is presently 79.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on HRL shares. BNP Paribas began coverage on Hormel Foods in a research report on Monday, October 21st. They set an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 price target on the stock. Barclays upgraded Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hormel Foods has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.17.

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.