SpiderRock Advisors LLC Lowers Stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

SpiderRock Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 2.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,055 shares of the company’s stock after selling 103 shares during the quarter. SpiderRock Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $969,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,341,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,372,965,000 after buying an additional 2,158,912 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 30,461.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 573,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,100,130,000 after acquiring an additional 571,766 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 297.9% during the second quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 717,831 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,959,000 after acquiring an additional 537,419 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the 2nd quarter worth about $82,123,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Hershey by 66.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,571,000 after purchasing an additional 389,404 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Up 1.6 %

HSY opened at $175.67 on Monday. The Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $171.67 and a 1-year high of $211.92. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $189.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $192.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company has a market capitalization of $35.54 billion, a PE ratio of 20.24, a PEG ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 0.38.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.50 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.07 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 16.17% and a return on equity of 43.24%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 63.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $163.00 to $161.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $230.00 to $205.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Hershey from $205.00 to $183.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Argus cut Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Citigroup cut Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $195.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $190.56.

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.