The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Stake Raised by Swedbank AB

Swedbank AB raised its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 3.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 135,898 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,124 shares during the period. Swedbank AB owned 0.07% of Hershey worth $26,063,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 14.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,341,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,372,965,000 after acquiring an additional 2,158,912 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,487,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $289,327,000 after buying an additional 90,329 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 787,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,743,000 after buying an additional 25,780 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 23.2% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 783,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,962,000 after buying an additional 147,215 shares during the period. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC raised its position in Hershey by 297.9% in the 2nd quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 717,831 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,959,000 after purchasing an additional 537,419 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 34,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,531,729.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 34,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,531,729.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $644,912.46. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $188.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Citigroup lowered shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $195.00 to $182.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Hershey in a research note on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $185.00 target price for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $230.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $195.00.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $184.81 on Thursday. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $178.82 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.32, a P/E/G ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 0.37. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $194.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $193.33.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.01 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.97%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.31%.

About Hershey

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.