Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Buys Shares of 446,734 The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 446,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $82,123,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 0.22% of Hershey as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Hershey by 20.6% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Hershey by 55.0% in the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 13.3% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 486 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 3.7% during the second quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 1,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $308,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Advisors Network LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 1,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hershey Trading Down 0.8 %

Hershey stock opened at $197.63 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $39.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 0.37. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $178.82 and a 1 year high of $212.85. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $196.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $193.94.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.17). Hershey had a return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 16.76%. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.01 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 9.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 54.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total transaction of $286,245.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,531,729.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total transaction of $286,245.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,531,729.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total transaction of $107,153.46. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at $644,912.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 3,538 shares of company stock worth $667,793. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on HSY shares. Argus cut Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on Hershey from $237.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Citigroup cut Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price target for the company from $195.00 to $182.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Hershey in a report on Monday, August 12th. They set a “sell” rating and a $185.00 price target on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $203.21.

Hershey Company Profile

The Hershey Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of confectionery products and pantry items in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: North America Confectionery, North America Salty Snacks, and International. It offers chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery products; gum and mint refreshment products, including mints, chewing gums, and bubble gums; protein bars; pantry items, such as baking ingredients, toppings, beverages, and sundae syrups; and snack items comprising spreads, bars, snack bites, mixes, popcorn, and pretzels.