Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. Sells 78,149 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,880,928 shares of the company’s stock after selling 78,149 shares during the period. Hormel Foods accounts for about 2.4% of Tandem Investment Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. owned 0.34% of Hormel Foods worth $60,397,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 13.9% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 34,513 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,108,000 after purchasing an additional 4,210 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 20.6% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 109,193 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,506,000 after purchasing an additional 18,620 shares during the last quarter. LifePlan Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the fourth quarter worth $446,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 905,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,064,000 after acquiring an additional 15,385 shares during the period. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the fourth quarter valued at $562,000. Institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on HRL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Hormel Foods from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Hormel Foods from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Hormel Foods from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Citigroup began coverage on Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $31.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Hormel Foods from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.00.

Insider Transactions at Hormel Foods

In related news, VP Mark A. Coffey sold 15,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.18, for a total transaction of $526,372.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 68,029 shares in the company, valued at $2,325,231.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Hormel Foods news, VP Mark A. Coffey sold 15,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.18, for a total value of $526,372.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 68,029 shares in the company, valued at $2,325,231.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.95, for a total value of $349,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 38,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,352,844.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 40,800 shares of company stock valued at $1,414,872 over the last 90 days. 0.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hormel Foods Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE HRL traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $34.04. 2,190,756 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,177,511. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.25, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.47. Hormel Foods Co. has a twelve month low of $28.51 and a twelve month high of $41.73.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.91 billion. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 11.51% and a net margin of 6.55%. Hormel Foods’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $0.2825 per share. This represents a $1.13 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.40%.

Hormel Foods 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.