Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Sells 13,464 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lessened its position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 329,201 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,464 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $10,037,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Hormel Foods by 688.3% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the first quarter valued at $31,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the second quarter valued at $34,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Hormel Foods in the 2nd quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Hormel Foods in the 1st quarter worth about $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

HRL opened at $32.37 on Wednesday. Hormel Foods Co. has a 12-month low of $28.51 and a 12-month high of $39.58. The company has a market cap of $17.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.12, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company’s 50 day moving average is $31.96 and its 200 day moving average is $32.96.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.01. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.52% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The business had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.40 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.58 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Deanna T. Brady sold 51,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.95, for a total transaction of $1,648,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 72,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,313,850.95. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on HRL shares. Citigroup upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $28.00 to $29.00 in a research note on Friday, May 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Hormel Foods has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.33.

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.