Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT Trims Stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT lowered its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 72.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,867 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,117 shares during the period. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,262,000 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. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Hershey by 14.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,341,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,372,965,000 after buying an additional 2,158,912 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Hershey by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,487,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,327,000 after acquiring an additional 90,329 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Hershey by 3.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 787,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,743,000 after acquiring an additional 25,780 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Hershey by 23.2% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 783,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,962,000 after purchasing an additional 147,215 shares during the period. Finally, Vontobel Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. now owns 781,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $151,715,000 after purchasing an additional 112,304 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Down 1.1 %

HSY stock opened at $195.52 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $39.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.38, a P/E/G ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 0.37. 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 business’s 50-day moving average is $196.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $193.95. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $178.82 and a fifty-two week high of $212.14.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Hershey had a return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 16.76%. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.01 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,531,729.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total value of $107,153.46. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at $644,912.46. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total value of $286,245.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 34,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,531,729.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 3,538 shares of company stock valued at $667,793. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on HSY. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Hershey in a research note on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $185.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Hershey from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $195.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus 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.