Grimes & Company Inc. Grows Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Grimes & Company Inc. increased its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 0.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 91,231 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 764 shares during the quarter. Grimes & Company Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $17,496,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 218.2% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Hershey by 55.0% during the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in Hershey during the first quarter valued at $29,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Hershey during the second quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Hershey during the first quarter valued at $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey 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 transaction of $107,153.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on HSY shares. 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. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Hershey in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “sell” rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on Hershey from $204.00 to $202.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. UBS Group lowered Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $226.00 to $209.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $192.80.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY traded up $1.15 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $183.13. The stock had a trading volume of 32,449 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,674,493. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $178.82 and a 12 month high of $211.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.03 billion, a PE ratio of 18.04, a PEG ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $193.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $192.88.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly 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 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.01 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.31%.

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.