Blair William & Co. IL Has $6.32 Million Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Blair William & Co. IL raised its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 10.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 34,394 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,209 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in Hershey were worth $6,323,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Hershey by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $328,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 296,168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,218,000 after purchasing an additional 30,789 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 31.7% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 8,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,549,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its holdings in Hershey by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 13,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,485,000 after buying an additional 1,048 shares during the period. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 35.0% in the 4th quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 78,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,631,000 after buying an additional 20,352 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,531,729.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, 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 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 approximately $644,912.46. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’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 completion of 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 worth $667,793. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on HSY shares. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Argus lowered Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays lowered their price target on Hershey from $210.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Hershey in a report on Monday, August 12th. They set a “sell” rating and a $185.00 price objective for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $203.21.

Hershey Trading Down 0.1 %

HSY stock opened at $195.23 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $178.82 and a twelve month high of $211.92. The company has a market cap of $39.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.35, a PEG ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a fifty day moving average of $196.30 and a 200-day moving average of $194.03.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its 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). Hershey had a net margin of 16.76% and a return on equity of 45.36%. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.01 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.5 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.31%.

Hershey 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.