Columbia Asset Management Lowers Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Columbia Asset Management reduced its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 88.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,524 shares of the company's stock after selling 20,000 shares during the quarter. Columbia Asset Management's holdings in Hershey were worth $432,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of HSY. Montag & Caldwell LLC bought a new position in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Hershey from $178.00 to $175.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup decreased their price target on Hershey from $173.00 to $165.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Hershey from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Hershey from $183.00 to $177.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $158.84.

Hershey Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:HSY traded down $0.95 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $161.83. 1,112,186 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,787,446. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $140.13 and a 1 year high of $208.03. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $163.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $165.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Hershey's dividend payout ratio is presently 67.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 now directly owns 2,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 31,210 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.80, for a total value of $5,018,568.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 193,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,134,739.20. The trade was 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 insiders.

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.