Baillie Gifford & Co. Trims Stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY)

Key Points

• Baillie Gifford & Co. reduced its stake in Hershey Company by 21.3%, selling 39,059 shares to hold a total of 144,657 shares valued at approximately $24.7 million.
• Several other institutional investors have increased their holdings in Hershey, including Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management, which raised its stake by 13.1% to own 242,147 shares worth about $40.9 million.
• Financial analysts have mixed reviews on Hershey stock, with the consensus rating being a "Hold" and an average price target of $160.16, indicating a cautious outlook going forward.

Baillie Gifford & Co. reduced its stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 21.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 144,657 shares of the company's stock after selling 39,059 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned approximately 0.07% of Hershey worth $24,741,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 31.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 12,460,147 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,110,126,000 after buying an additional 2,980,997 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 18,311.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,010,616 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,728,460,000 after buying an additional 1,005,127 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 6,721.3% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 819,446 shares of the company's stock valued at $140,150,000 after buying an additional 807,433 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 38.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,628,047 shares of the company's stock worth $275,710,000 after purchasing an additional 453,428 shares during the period. Finally, Value Partners Investments Inc. boosted its position in Hershey by 1,266.3% during the first quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 214,794 shares of the company's stock worth $36,777,000 after purchasing an additional 199,073 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on HSY. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Hershey from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Hershey from $183.00 to $177.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays boosted their price target on Hershey from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Hershey from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Hershey from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $161.74.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.11, for a total transaction of $153,025.14. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $470,387.34. This represents a 24.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $900,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 61,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,037,420. This represents a 7.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 99,021 shares of company stock valued at $17,189,088. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY traded up $4.38 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $190.61. The stock had a trading volume of 1,391,693 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,864,329. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $38.62 billion, a PE ratio of 23.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.57 and a beta of 0.30. Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $140.13 and a 1 year high of $208.03. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $168.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $165.52.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.50 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 38.70% and a net margin of 15.32%. The business's revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.27 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.57%.

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.