The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Sold by Sciencast Management LP

Sciencast Management LP reduced its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 48.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,256 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,072 shares during the period. Sciencast Management LP’s holdings in Hershey were worth $828,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Alliance lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 1,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $212,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. AJOVista LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter worth about $153,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 1,263.3% during the 4th quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 15,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,816,000 after purchasing an additional 13,997 shares during the last quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter worth about $2,332,000. Finally, Reliant Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,173,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Up 1.2 %

NYSE:HSY traded up $2.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $188.96. The company had a trading volume of 1,146,386 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,862,035. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $178.82 and a 1 year high of $248.93. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $193.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $192.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.73, a PEG ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.36.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.33. Hershey had a return on equity of 50.15% and a net margin of 18.13%. The firm had revenue of $3.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.96 EPS. Hershey’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. 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. Edward Jones reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Hershey from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 21st. BNP Paribas lowered Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Hershey presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $209.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.54, for a total transaction of $306,810.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 37,228 shares in the company, valued at $7,614,615.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 4,500 shares of company stock worth $859,950 in the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.