The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Sold by Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc.

Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 33.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,379 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,191 shares during the period. Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,091,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ethos Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 59.8% in the 4th quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 3,962 shares of the company's stock valued at $671,000 after buying an additional 1,483 shares during the period. DJE Kapital AG purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,040,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,635,390 shares of the company's stock worth $785,003,000 after buying an additional 247,675 shares during the period. Global View Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $253,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,692,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.11, for a total value of $153,025.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $470,387.34. The trade was a 24.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 31,210 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.80, for a total transaction of $5,018,568.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 193,624 shares in the company, valued at $31,134,739.20. This trade represents a 13.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on HSY shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Hershey from $147.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Mizuho lowered their target price on Hershey from $167.00 to $155.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $178.00 to $175.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $158.84.

Hershey Trading Down 0.9%

Hershey stock traded down $1.51 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $168.90. The company had a trading volume of 1,262,081 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,792,881. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.50, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.96. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $164.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $165.57. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $208.03.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.81 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. The firm's revenue was down 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.07 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. 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.