ST Germain D J Co. Inc. Sells 158 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

ST Germain D J Co. Inc. decreased its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 49.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 162 shares of the company’s stock after selling 158 shares during the quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $30,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in HSY. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 2,158,912 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter worth approximately $349,448,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC lifted 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 valued at $131,959,000 after purchasing an additional 537,419 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 18,495.8% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 295,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,125,000 after purchasing an additional 294,083 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 3,404.3% during the 1st quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 256,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,879,000 after buying an additional 249,129 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.54, for a total value of $306,810.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 37,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,614,615.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold 4,500 shares of company stock worth $867,450 in the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $237.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Barclays decreased their price objective on Hershey from $210.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Argus dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Edward Jones reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, April 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $204.50.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY stock traded up $3.36 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $199.38. 1,388,729 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,862,227. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $178.82 and a fifty-two week high of $230.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.80, a P/E/G ratio of 4.96 and a beta of 0.36. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $189.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $192.77.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued 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). The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 16.76% and a return on equity of 45.36%. The company’s revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.01 earnings per share. Analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 9.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 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.