Heritage Family Offices LLP Sells 72 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Heritage Family Offices LLP reduced its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 2.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,983 shares of the company’s stock after selling 72 shares during the period. Heritage Family Offices LLP’s holdings in Hershey were worth $572,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HSY. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 2,158,912 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 6.5% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 3.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 787,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,743,000 after buying an additional 25,780 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 23.2% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 783,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,962,000 after acquiring an additional 147,215 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Hershey by 297.9% in the 2nd quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 717,831 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,959,000 after acquiring an additional 537,419 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total value of $107,153.46. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at $644,912.46. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at $644,912.46. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total transaction of $286,245.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 34,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,531,729.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Hershey from $188.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $204.00 to $202.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $195.00.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE:HSY opened at $184.81 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $194.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $193.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.86. The Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $178.82 and a 52-week high of $211.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.37 billion, a PE ratio of 18.32, a P/E/G ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 0.37.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.17). Hershey had a return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 16.76%. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.01 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

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

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.