Hershey Company (The) $HSY Shares Sold by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management sharply reduced its Hershey stake by 91.7% in the first quarter, selling 57,630 shares and leaving it with 5,237 shares valued at about $1.09 million.
• Hershey’s insider activity included CFO Steven E. Voskuil selling 1,500 shares for about $260,145, reducing his ownership by 2.67%.
• The stock has seen mixed analyst sentiment: several firms cut price targets, and the consensus rating remains “Hold,” while Hershey recently beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations and pays a 3.3% dividend yield.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. cut its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 91.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,237 shares of the company's stock after selling 57,630 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,089,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new position in Hershey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Hershey during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Hershey by 123.0% in the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 165 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.43, for a total transaction of $260,145.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 54,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,485,753.85. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HSY has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $215.00 to $200.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. BTIG Research began coverage on Hershey in a report on Monday, April 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Hershey from $211.00 to $204.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $217.50.

Hershey Trading Up 1.8%

NYSE HSY opened at $178.59 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $185.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $198.13. The company has a market capitalization of $36.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.11. Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $160.07 and a 12 month high of $239.48.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.31. Hershey had a net margin of 9.12% and a return on equity of 28.98%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.09 earnings per share. Hershey's quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 8.45 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 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $1.452 per share. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 108.19%.

About Hershey

The Hershey Company NYSE: HSY is a leading North American chocolatier and snack manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The company develops, produces and markets a wide range of confectionery and snack products for retail, foodservice and international customers. Hershey's business spans manufacturing, branded product marketing, packaging and distribution across grocery, convenience, mass merchant and e-commerce channels.

Hershey's product portfolio centers on chocolate and sugar confectionery, including core brands such as Hershey's, Reese's, Hershey's Kisses and Twizzlers, alongside non-chocolate snacks and confectionery brands.

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