Retirement Guys Formula LLC Purchases 321 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Retirement Guys Formula LLC raised its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,732 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 321 shares during the period. Retirement Guys Formula LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $716,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of HSY. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 2,158,912 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Hershey by 6.5% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,487,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,327,000 after purchasing an additional 90,329 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Hershey by 3.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 787,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,743,000 after purchasing an additional 25,780 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 23.2% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 783,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,962,000 after acquiring an additional 147,215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 297.9% in the second 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on HSY shares. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Hershey from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $184.00 to $163.00 in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Argus lowered Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Hershey from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Hershey from $188.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $195.00.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of HSY stock traded down $1.13 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $184.55. 542,645 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,678,484. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $178.82 and a twelve month high of $211.92. The firm has a market cap of $37.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 0.37. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $194.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $193.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.01 earnings per share. Hershey’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were given 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 (DPR) is presently 54.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

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

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.