The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Position Lifted by Tompkins Financial Corp

Tompkins Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,016 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 390 shares during the quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp’s holdings in Hershey were worth $578,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. Norden Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the 1st quarter valued at about $374,000. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 3.6% during the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 5,303 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,031,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in Hershey by 54.9% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 9,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,889,000 after purchasing an additional 3,445 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 239.2% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 22,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,286,000 after purchasing an additional 15,538 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 29.7% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,119 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,163,000 after purchasing an additional 2,544 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Stock Up 1.6 %

NYSE HSY traded up $2.82 on Friday, reaching $175.67. The stock had a trading volume of 3,115,302 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,375,510. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $171.67 and a 1 year high of $211.92. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $189.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $192.13. The company has a market capitalization of $35.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.52, a P/E/G ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 0.38.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted 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). Hershey had a net margin of 16.76% and a return on equity of 45.36%. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.07 billion. On average, analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.89%.

Insider Activity

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total value of $107,153.46. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $644,912.46. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on HSY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Hershey from $188.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Hershey in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “sell” rating and a $165.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Hershey in a report on Monday, August 12th. They set a “sell” rating and a $185.00 target price on the stock. Barclays lowered their price target on Hershey from $204.00 to $202.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, UBS Group cut Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $226.00 to $209.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $190.56.

Hershey 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.