SRN Advisors LLC Has $852,000 Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

SRN Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,636 shares of the company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. SRN Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $852,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its position in Hershey by 218.2% during the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew 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 worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in Hershey in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Hershey during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Hershey during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $644,912.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 34,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,531,729.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HSY has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Hershey from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America lowered their price target on Hershey from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Hershey from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Hershey in a report on Monday, August 12th. They set a “sell” rating and a $185.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Argus lowered shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $198.63.

Hershey Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of HSY stock opened at $191.89 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $38.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.02, a PEG ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.37. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $178.82 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $196.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $193.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.01 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.