2,888 Shares in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Acquired by Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI bought a new position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $554,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its stake in Hershey by 218.2% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 55.0% during 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 last quarter. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $644,912.46. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HSY has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Hershey from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $184.00 to $163.00 in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $230.00 to $205.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Argus downgraded shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Hershey in a report on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $185.00 price target for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $192.80.

Hershey Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of HSY opened at $181.98 on Thursday. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $178.82 and a 52 week high of $211.92. 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 company has a market capitalization of $36.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.04, a PEG ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 0.37. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $193.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $192.88.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.17). The business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.01 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.01%. 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.