Davis R M Inc. Has $5.79 Million Position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY)

Davis R M Inc. cut its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 44.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 33,872 shares of the company’s stock after selling 27,337 shares during the quarter. Davis R M Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $5,793,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Hershey by 31.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 12,460,147 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,110,126,000 after purchasing an additional 2,980,997 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 18,311.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,010,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,728,460,000 after purchasing an additional 1,005,127 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 6,721.3% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 819,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $140,150,000 after buying an additional 807,433 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 38.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,628,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $275,710,000 after buying an additional 453,428 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Value Partners Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1,266.3% during the first quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 214,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,777,000 after buying an additional 199,073 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hershey Price Performance

NYSE:HSY opened at $188.79 on Thursday. Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $208.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.28, a P/E/G ratio of 4.61 and a beta of 0.30. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $169.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $165.68. 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 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. Hershey had a return on equity of 38.70% and a net margin of 15.32%. The business had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.27 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $900,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 61,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,037,420. This represents a 7.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP James Turoff sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $227,500.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 25,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,431,175. This represents a 4.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 99,021 shares of company stock worth $17,189,088 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Hershey from $178.00 to $175.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Hershey from $162.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $147.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $161.74.

Hershey 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.