LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI Reduces Stock Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI lowered its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 13.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,315 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,000 shares during the quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI's holdings in Hershey were worth $3,303,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in HSY. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Hershey by 31.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 12,460,147 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,110,126,000 after buying an additional 2,980,997 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Hershey by 18,311.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,010,616 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,728,460,000 after buying an additional 1,005,127 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at $80,978,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Hershey by 38.6% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,628,047 shares of the company's stock valued at $275,710,000 after buying an additional 453,428 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 5.6% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on HSY. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Hershey from $183.00 to $177.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Hershey from $173.00 to $165.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays increased their price objective on Hershey from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Hershey from $178.00 to $175.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $158.84.

Hershey Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE HSY traded up $0.72 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $161.41. The stock had a trading volume of 1,063,695 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,781,268. The company has a market capitalization of $32.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.81, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $140.13 and a 1-year high of $208.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $163.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $166.15.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Hershey's dividend payout ratio is currently 67.57%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.11, for a total transaction of $153,025.14. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $470,387.34. This trade represents a 24.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

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.