Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Cuts Stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC reduced its position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 94.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,344 shares of the company's stock after selling 22,452 shares during the quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC's holdings in Hershey were worth $230,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ethos Financial Group LLC increased its stake 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 acquired a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at $1,040,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Hershey by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,635,390 shares of the company's stock valued at $785,003,000 after buying an additional 247,675 shares during the period. Global View Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at $253,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter worth $1,692,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $183.00 to $177.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. DA Davidson upped their price target 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. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Hershey from $147.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $167.00 to $155.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $158.84.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CEO Michele Buck sold 31,210 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 193,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,134,739.20. This represents a 13.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.11, for a total transaction of $153,025.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $470,387.34. This trade represents a 24.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of Hershey stock traded up $1.80 on Monday, hitting $173.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,354,495 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,797,704. Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $140.13 and a 52-week high of $208.03. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $164.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $165.36. The company has a market capitalization of $35.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 0.29.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.15. Hershey had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 38.70%. The business had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.07 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.16%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.57%.

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.