DAVENPORT & Co LLC Cuts Stock Position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY)

DAVENPORT & Co LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 92.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,388 shares of the company's stock after selling 293,207 shares during the quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC's holdings in Hershey were worth $3,829,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. Montag & Caldwell LLC purchased a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group cut their price target 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. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $162.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $183.00 to $177.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $167.00 to $155.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $158.84.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was 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 directly owned 2,994 shares in the company, valued at $470,387.34. The trade was a 24.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 31,210 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.80, for a total value of $5,018,568.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 193,624 shares of the company's stock, 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 54,107 shares of company stock worth $9,008,118. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE:HSY traded down $4.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $173.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 733,761 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,793,894. Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $140.13 and a 1 year high of $208.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $35.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.33, a PEG ratio of 6.52 and a beta of 0.30. The business's fifty day moving average is $165.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $164.86.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 38.70%. The firm's revenue was down 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.07 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.