Victory Capital Management Inc. Decreases Position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY)

Victory Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 138,989 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,997 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Hershey worth $23,771,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kennon Green & Company LLC raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 33.3% in the first quarter. Kennon Green & Company LLC now owns 43,146 shares of the company's stock worth $7,379,000 after purchasing an additional 10,784 shares during the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 31,925 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,460,000 after buying an additional 2,757 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 18,625 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,186,000 after buying an additional 1,390 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 21,151 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,617,000 after buying an additional 1,582 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elevate Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 23.2% during the 1st quarter. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,105 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,412,000 after buying an additional 2,657 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on HSY shares. Barclays boosted their target price on Hershey from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Mizuho cut their target price on Hershey from $167.00 to $155.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Hershey from $178.00 to $175.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Hershey from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Hershey from $183.00 to $177.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $158.84.

Hershey Price Performance

NYSE:HSY opened at $176.77 on Tuesday. Hershey Company has a one year low of $140.13 and a one year high of $208.03. The stock has a market cap of $35.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.80, a PEG ratio of 6.40 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $165.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $164.59.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.81 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 38.70%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.07 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. Hershey's payout ratio is 67.57%.

Insider Activity

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.11, for a total transaction of $153,025.14. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $470,387.34. This represents a 24.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP James Turoff sold 1,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $227,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 25,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,431,175. This represents a 4.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 54,107 shares of company stock worth $9,008,118 over the last quarter. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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