The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Sold by Maven Securities LTD

Maven Securities LTD cut its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 67.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,409 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,889 shares during the period. Maven Securities LTD’s holdings in Hershey were worth $443,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

HSY has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $237.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Argus lowered Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $198.63.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’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 approximately $6,531,729.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $644,912.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, 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 that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,531,729.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hershey Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $193.41 on Thursday. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $178.82 and a 1 year high of $211.92. 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 firm has a market cap of $39.11 billion, a PE ratio of 19.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $196.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $193.94.

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 business 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 business’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 earned $2.01 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.49 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

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