AUSTIN, Minn. – Hormel Foods Corp. announced that the company’s stockholders approved a two-for-one stock split during the company’s annual shareholders meeting on Jan. 26. The par value of the company’s common stock will be split to $.01465 per share from $.0293, increasing the number of authorized shares to 1.6 billion from 800 million, Hormel said. Stockholders of record on the close of business on Jan. 26 will receive one additional share of common stock for each share owned on that date. The annual dividend rate, when adjusted for the two-for-one split, will be $.58 per share, the company said. The shareholder meeting also provided Hormel executives the opportunity to celebrate the company’s successes in 2015 and highlight the company’s Refrigerated Foods segment. Profits in the Refrigerated Foods segment surged 27 percent in the fourth quarter on strong demand for Applegate natural and organic lunch meats, higher pork operating margins and improved product mix. Thomas R. Day, group vice president for Hormel’s Refrigerated Foods, discussed the segment’s performance and the potential positive impact of the Applegate acquisition. “We identified the opportunity for continued growth within Refrigerated Foods was in the natural and organic market,” Day said. “We believe that through the Applegate products, we are able to offer consumers the choices they’re asking for with the number one brand in the natural and organic meats category.” Jeffrey M. Ettinger, chairman and CEO, said the company’s results for 2015 were strong. “We reported record bottom-line results, with adjusted net earnings up 19 percent over last year and all five segments registering earnings growth,” he noted. “Additionally, we raised our annual dividend by 16 percent to $1.16 per share, marking the 50th consecutive year we have increased our dividend.”