Bellecapital International Ltd. Cuts Stock Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Bellecapital International Ltd. cut its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 37.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,322 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,413 shares during the period. Bellecapital International Ltd.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $445,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in HSY. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Hershey by 14.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,341,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,372,965,000 after acquiring an additional 2,158,912 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,487,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $289,327,000 after purchasing an additional 90,329 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Hershey by 3.4% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Hershey by 23.2% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 783,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,962,000 after buying an additional 147,215 shares during the period. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Hershey by 297.9% during the second quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 717,831 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,959,000 after buying an additional 537,419 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In related 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 transaction of $107,153.46. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at $644,912.46. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $286,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 34,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,531,729.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $644,912.46. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on HSY shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $188.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Hershey from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $184.00 to $163.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Citigroup lowered Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $195.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $230.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $195.00.

Hershey Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE:HSY traded down $1.17 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $184.51. The stock had a trading volume of 271,308 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,677,148. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $194.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $193.11. The Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $178.82 and a 1-year high of $211.92. The company has a market capitalization of $37.31 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 has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 16.76%. Hershey’s revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.01 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.97%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.