The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Sold by Creative Planning

Creative Planning lessened its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 12.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 55,254 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,776 shares during the period. Creative Planning’s holdings in Hershey were worth $10,597,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Hershey by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 320,680 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,951,000 after buying an additional 29,246 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 179.4% in the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 6,958 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,353,000 after purchasing an additional 4,468 shares during the last quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 1st quarter worth approximately $5,383,000. Signet Financial Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 59.9% in the 1st quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC now owns 12,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,521,000 after purchasing an additional 4,854 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 119.8% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 91,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,633,000 after purchasing an additional 50,014 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $644,912.46. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on HSY shares. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $230.00 to $205.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Bank of America cut their target price on Hershey from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Hershey in a research report on Monday, August 12th. They set a “sell” rating and a $185.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Hershey from $204.00 to $202.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $193.50.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $183.47 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $37.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.18, a PEG ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 0.37. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $193.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $192.96. The Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $178.82 and a 52-week high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 16.76%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.01 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.31%.

About Hershey

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.