Item 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS, AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Market Information

Hormel Foods Corporation’s common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol HRL. The CUSIP number is 440452100.

Holders

There are approximately 10,000 record stockholders and 270,000 stockholders whose shares are held in street name by brokerage firms and financial institutions.

There were no issuer purchases of equity securities in the quarter ended October 29, 2023. On January 29, 2013, the Company's Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of 10,000,000 shares of its common stock with no expiration date. On January 26, 2016, the Board of Directors approved a two-for-one split of the Company’s common stock to be effective January 27, 2016. As part of the stock split resolution, the number of shares remaining to be repurchased was adjusted proportionately. The maximum number of shares that may yet be purchased under the repurchase plans or programs as of October 29, 2023 is 3,677,494.

Dividends

The Company has paid dividends for 381 consecutive quarters. The annual dividend rate for fiscal 2024 will increase to $1.13 per share, representing the 58th consecutive annual dividend increase. The Company is dedicated to returning excess cash flow to shareholders through dividend payments.

Shareholder Return Performance Graph

The following graph shows a comparison of cumulative total shareholder return, calculated on a dividend-reinvested basis, for the Company, the S&P 500 Index, and the S&P 500 Packaged Foods & Meats Index for the five years ended October 29, 2023. The graph assumes $100 was invested in each as of the market close on October 29, 2018. Note that historic stock price performance is not necessarily indicative of future stock price performance.