Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) Shares Sold by Ledyard National Bank

Ledyard National Bank cut its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 7.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,743 shares of the company’s stock after selling 223 shares during the period. Ledyard National Bank’s holdings in Hershey were worth $469,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Ethos Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Hershey by 59.8% in the 4th quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 3,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $671,000 after buying an additional 1,483 shares in the last quarter. DJE Kapital AG acquired a new position in Hershey during the 4th quarter worth $1,040,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 8.1% in the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 18,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,186,000 after purchasing an additional 1,390 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,635,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $785,003,000 after purchasing an additional 247,675 shares during the period. Finally, Global View Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at about $253,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE:HSY opened at $172.06 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $164.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $165.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.32 and a beta of 0.29. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $140.13 and a 1-year high of $208.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.15. Hershey had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 38.70%. The company had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.81 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.07 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 67.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on HSY. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Hershey from $162.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup dropped their target price on Hershey from $173.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Hershey from $178.00 to $175.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $158.84.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CEO Michele Buck sold 31,210 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.80, for a total transaction of $5,018,568.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 193,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,134,739.20. The trade was a 13.88% decrease in their position. The transaction 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 shares were sold at an average price of $157.11, for a total value of $153,025.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,994 shares in the company, valued at $470,387.34. This represents a 24.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.28% 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.