Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Sells 9,795 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd cut its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 60.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 6,434 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,795 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of HSY. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Hershey by 62.3% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 49,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,610,000 after acquiring an additional 18,968 shares in the last quarter. Vicus Capital bought a new position in Hershey during the 1st quarter valued at $264,000. Founders Financial Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 1st quarter valued at $467,000. Aviance Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 1st quarter valued at $243,000. Finally, Diversified Trust Co increased its position in shares of Hershey by 332.3% during the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 7,838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,524,000 after purchasing an additional 6,025 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HSY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America decreased their target price on Hershey from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $230.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. UBS Group lowered Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $226.00 to $209.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Hershey in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “sell” rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $191.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $644,912.46. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY opened at $181.26 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $36.66 billion, a PE ratio of 17.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 0.37. 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 moving average price of $192.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $192.71. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $178.82 and a 12-month high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released 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). The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 16.76%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.01 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.02%. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 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.