The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Purchased by NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 12,926 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $2,479,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 218.2% in the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 55.0% in the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Hershey in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp purchased a new stake in Hershey during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hershey Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $181.26 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 0.37. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $192.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $192.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $178.82 and a 1 year high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 16.76% and a return on equity of 45.36%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.01 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.02%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein cut Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $230.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Argus lowered shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $188.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $191.55.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total value of $107,153.46. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $644,912.46. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.