Argyle Capital Management Inc. Has $2.58 Million Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Argyle Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 20.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,848 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,457 shares during the period. Argyle Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $2,582,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Hershey by 143.7% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,465,403 shares of the company’s stock worth $496,039,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453,819 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 18,495.8% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 295,673 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,125,000 after purchasing an additional 294,083 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in 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 period. Trexquant Investment LP bought a new position in Hershey during the 3rd quarter worth $33,672,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Hershey by 270.8% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 197,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,478,000 after buying an additional 144,103 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on HSY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $213.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $191.00 to $183.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Edward Jones reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, April 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Hershey presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $223.33.

Hershey Price Performance

NYSE:HSY traded down $0.99 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $186.16. The company had a trading volume of 1,186,506 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,496,720. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $191.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $190.61. The Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $178.82 and a 52-week high of $276.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $37.97 billion, a PE ratio of 20.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.34.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its 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. The company had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.72 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 51.79% and a net margin of 16.67%. Hershey’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.02 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.55%.

Insider Activity

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.83, for a total value of $278,745.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 38,728 shares in the company, valued at $7,196,824.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $369,681.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.83, for a total transaction of $278,745.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 38,728 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,196,824.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 3,453 shares of company stock valued at $665,534. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

About Hershey

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.