Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Acquires 1,671 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 91,816 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,671 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $16,879,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its position in Hershey by 21.5% during the second quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 4,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $821,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares in the last quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 63.3% in the second quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $310,000 after buying an additional 653 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,822,000. Choreo LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $686,000. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Hershey by 20.1% in the 2nd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 8,040 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,478,000 after acquiring an additional 1,347 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $198.62 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $194.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $193.52. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $178.82 and a 52 week high of $213.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.68, a PEG ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 0.37.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for 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 company’s revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.01 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HSY has been the topic of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Hershey from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Hershey from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Hershey in a research note on Monday, August 12th. They set a “sell” rating and a $185.00 target price on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $203.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 34,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,531,729.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 34,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,531,729.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction 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 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. Insiders sold 3,538 shares of company stock valued at $667,793 over the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.