MML Investors Services LLC Purchases 416 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

MML Investors Services LLC raised its position in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,108 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 416 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $289,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HRL. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Hormel Foods during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Hormel Foods by 516.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hormel Foods

In other Hormel Foods news, VP Steven J. Lykken acquired 4,904 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $32.47 per share, with a total value of $159,232.88. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president now owns 7,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $230,537. This trade represents a 223.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on HRL. Stephens began coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price target for the company. Citigroup lowered their price target on Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on Hormel Foods in a report on Monday, October 21st. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 price objective on the stock. Two research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.29.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Shares of HRL opened at $31.61 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.26. The business’s 50-day moving average is $31.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 2.32. Hormel Foods Co. has a fifty-two week low of $28.51 and a fifty-two week high of $36.86.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share 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 company 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 business posted $0.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, January 13th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 13th. This is a positive change from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.45%.

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.