Appleton Partners Inc. MA Has $5.53 Million Stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Appleton Partners Inc. MA grew its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,815 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 353 shares during the quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in Hershey were worth $5,526,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Hershey by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,341,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,372,965,000 after purchasing an additional 2,158,912 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Hershey by 6.5% in 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 last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Hershey by 3.4% in 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 during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Hershey by 23.2% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 783,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,962,000 after purchasing an additional 147,215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Hershey by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. now owns 781,967 shares of the company’s stock worth $151,715,000 after purchasing an additional 112,304 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on HSY. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Argus downgraded Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Hershey from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $184.00 to $163.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Hershey from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on Hershey from $237.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $198.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total value of $286,245.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now 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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total value of $286,245.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 34,228 shares in the company, valued at $6,531,729.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $193.41 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.37. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $196.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $193.94. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $178.82 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.17). The business 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 for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.01 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 9.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.31%.

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.