Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Sells 117,800 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lowered its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 40.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 176,510 shares of the company’s stock after selling 117,800 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned 0.09% of Hershey worth $32,448,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 218.2% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in Hershey in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Hershey by 55.0% in the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $195.43 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market cap of $39.52 billion, a PE ratio of 19.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 0.37. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $196.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $194.08. The Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $178.82 and a 1-year high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced 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). Hershey had a net margin of 16.76% and a return on equity of 45.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.01 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.80%. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 54.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on HSY. Citigroup downgraded shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $195.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. 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 report on Friday, August 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on Hershey from $237.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Argus lowered Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $200.72.

Insider Activity

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

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.