Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) Stock Position Reduced by Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ

Key Points

• Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB has reduced its stake in Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 4.3%, now holding 33,630 shares valued at approximately $5.76 million.
• Several institutional investors increased their investments in Hershey, with Kennon Green & Company LLC raising its holdings by 33.3% to own 43,146 shares, valued at $7.38 million.
• Hershey's stock has faced downward pressure, with analysts lowering their target prices, including Citigroup's cut from $173 to $165, maintaining a "neutral" rating.

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ decreased its position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 4.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,630 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,512 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ's holdings in Hershey were worth $5,763,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Montag & Caldwell LLC bought a new stake in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the first quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Hershey by 129.5% in the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on HSY. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Hershey from $135.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Hershey from $173.00 to $165.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered Hershey from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 6th. Barclays boosted their target price on 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 price objective on Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $167.05.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other Hershey news, SVP James Turoff sold 1,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was 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 directly owned 25,321 shares in the company, valued at $4,431,175. This represents a 4.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.11, for a total value of $153,025.14. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 2,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $470,387.34. This represents a 24.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 99,021 shares of company stock valued at $17,189,088. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY traded down $0.61 during trading on Thursday, reaching $188.22. The company had a trading volume of 741,626 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,867,781. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.61 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $169.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $165.68. Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $208.03.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 38.70% and a net margin of 15.32%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.27 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. Hershey's payout ratio is currently 67.57%.

Hershey Company 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.