DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Raises Stock Position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 69.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 77,483 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 31,662 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale's holdings in Hershey were worth $13,076,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Montag & Caldwell LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Proffitt & Goodson Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the 1st quarter worth $28,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 2,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $470,387.34. The trade was a 24.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP James Turoff sold 1,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $227,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 25,321 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,431,175. This represents a 4.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 54,107 shares of company stock worth $9,008,118. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hershey Trading Up 0.1%

HSY traded up $0.18 on Friday, reaching $164.82. 1,080,547 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,806,630. Hershey Company has a one year low of $140.13 and a one year high of $208.03. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $165.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $164.80. The company has a market cap of $33.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.08 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.15. Hershey had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 38.70%. The company had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.07 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio is currently 67.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $162.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $173.00 to $165.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Hershey from $147.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $158.84.

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.