The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Stock Holdings Lifted by LPL Financial LLC

LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 10.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 320,680 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 29,246 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.16% of Hershey worth $58,951,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 730,292 shares of the company’s stock worth $136,142,000 after buying an additional 64,238 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 21,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,062,000 after buying an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 32.9% in the fourth quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 35,441 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,608,000 after buying an additional 8,767 shares during the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 62.4% in the fourth quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 2,582 shares of the company’s stock worth $481,000 after buying an additional 992 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter worth about $349,448,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of HSY opened at $200.83 on Friday. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $178.82 and a 1 year high of $213.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $195.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $193.69. The stock has a market cap of $40.63 billion, a PE ratio of 19.90, a PEG ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 0.37.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total transaction of $107,153.46. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $644,912.46. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.93, for a total transaction of $274,395.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 35,728 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,535,723.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total value of $107,153.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $644,912.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,538 shares of company stock worth $667,793. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Argus downgraded Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Barclays decreased their target price on Hershey from $210.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Hershey from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.