Natixis Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY)

Natixis Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 11.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 49,907 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,637 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC's holdings in Hershey were worth $8,535,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in HSY. Montag & Caldwell LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Hershey during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. purchased a new stake in Hershey during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Hershey by 129.5% during the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Hershey Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE:HSY opened at $190.23 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $38.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.26, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $171.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $166.56. Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $208.03.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 37.36% and a net margin of 13.54%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.27 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Hershey's payout ratio is 72.78%.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 5,000 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $900,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 61,319 shares in the company, valued at $11,037,420. The trade was a 7.54% 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, SVP James Turoff sold 1,300 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $227,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 25,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,431,175. This trade represents a 4.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 118,311 shares of company stock valued at $20,931,348. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho boosted their target price on Hershey from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Barclays boosted their target price on Hershey from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday. Citigroup decreased their target price on Hershey from $173.00 to $165.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $169.68.

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.

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