The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Sold by Forsta AP Fonden

Forsta AP Fonden decreased its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 35.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,700 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,100 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Hershey were worth $4,724,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Hershey by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 730,292 shares of the company’s stock valued at $136,142,000 after purchasing an additional 64,238 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC raised its position in Hershey by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 21,786 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,062,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Hershey by 32.9% in the 4th quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 35,441 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,608,000 after purchasing an additional 8,767 shares during the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its position in Hershey by 62.4% in the 4th quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 2,582 shares of the company’s stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 992 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at $349,448,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on HSY. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $195.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $203.21.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total value of $107,153.46. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at $644,912.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.93, for a total transaction of $274,395.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 35,728 shares in the company, valued at $6,535,723.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,538 shares of company stock worth $667,793. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of HSY stock opened at $200.83 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $40.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.90, a PEG ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 0.37. The Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $178.82 and a 1-year high of $213.85. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $195.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $193.69.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.73%. Hershey’s payout ratio is 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.