Ritholtz Wealth Management Sells 134 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Ritholtz Wealth Management cut its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,725 shares of the company’s stock after selling 134 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Hershey were worth $685,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of HSY. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 20.6% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 316 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in Hershey by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,661 shares of the company’s stock worth $683,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Mount Lucas Management LP lifted its stake in Hershey by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Mount Lucas Management LP now owns 9,619 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,793,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 13.3% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 486 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 1,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $308,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total transaction of $107,153.46. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at $644,912.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,531,729.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $644,912.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,538 shares of company stock worth $667,793. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $237.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Hershey in a research report on Monday, August 12th. They set a “sell” rating and a $185.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup cut Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $195.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $202.79.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $197.32 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $192.48 and a 200 day moving average of $193.22. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $178.82 and a 52 week high of $214.66. The company has a market cap of $39.90 billion, a PE ratio of 19.56, a P/E/G ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 16.76%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.01 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.78%. Hershey’s payout ratio is 54.31%.

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.