The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Stock Position Cut by Fulton Bank N.A.

Fulton Bank N.A. lessened its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 65.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,594 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,001 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $293,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Hershey by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,341,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,372,965,000 after buying an additional 2,158,912 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at about $349,448,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 297.9% during 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 boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 18,495.8% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $49,879,000 after purchasing an additional 249,129 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Hershey from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price 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. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Argus decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $204.50.

Hershey Stock Performance

Hershey stock traded up $3.36 on Tuesday, hitting $199.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,388,729 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,862,227. The firm has a market cap of $40.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.96 and a beta of 0.36. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $189.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $192.77. The Hershey Company has a one year low of $178.82 and a one year high of $230.69.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced 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 business had revenue of $2.07 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.01 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

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 is Friday, August 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 54.31%.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total value of $286,245.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 34,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,531,729.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,500 shares of company stock valued at $867,450. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.