The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Sold by Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ trimmed its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 70.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,843 shares of the company’s stock after selling 89,968 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Hershey were worth $6,757,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Hershey by 20.6% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in 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 period. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 13.3% during the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 486 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its stake in Hershey by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 1,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $308,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $484,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the business’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 transaction of $107,153.46. Following the transaction, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $644,912.46. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,538 shares of company stock valued at $667,793 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Hershey stock opened at $195.43 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $196.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $194.07. The company has a market cap of $39.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 0.37. 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 Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $178.82 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $2.07 billion during 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 was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.01 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 9.5 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HSY has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $237.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $195.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Argus downgraded shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $203.21.

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.