The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 187,545 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,169 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.09% of Hershey worth $34,957,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Hershey by 143.7% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,465,403 shares of the company's stock valued at $496,039,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453,819 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Hershey by 18,495.8% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 295,673 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,125,000 after purchasing an additional 294,083 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Hershey by 1.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,911,173 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,983,427,000 after purchasing an additional 222,960 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,672,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Hershey by 270.8% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 197,312 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,478,000 after purchasing an additional 144,103 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total value of $89,938.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $369,681.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $296,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 40,228 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,961,121.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total transaction of $89,938.62. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $369,681.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,453 shares of company stock worth $665,534 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Hershey Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE:HSY traded down $0.22 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $193.70. 1,793,952 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,970,338. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $191.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $190.68. The Hershey Company has a one year low of $178.82 and a one year high of $276.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.34.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.07. Hershey had a return on equity of 51.79% and a net margin of 16.67%. The firm had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.72 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.02 EPS. The business's revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This is an increase from Hershey's previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on HSY shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $213.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Edward Jones restated a "hold" rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Hershey from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $235.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, January 29th. BNP Paribas cut Hershey from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $208.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $212.78.

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.