Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Has $20.06 Million Stock Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 12.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 80,322 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,709 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $20,057,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc bought a new position in Hershey during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Institutional & Family Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Hershey during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its holdings in Hershey by 121.3% during the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 135 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the first quarter worth about $38,000. 56.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, Director Pamela M. Arway sold 182 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.56, for a total transaction of $35,409.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,562 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,027,742.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.00, for a total transaction of $310,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 35,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,413,912. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Pamela M. Arway sold 182 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.56, for a total value of $35,409.92. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,562 shares in the company, valued at $3,027,742.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,682 shares of company stock valued at $953,275 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on HSY. Royal Bank of Canada lowered Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $239.00 to $213.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Stephens assumed coverage on Hershey in a research note on Friday, October 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $240.00 target price on the stock. Barclays cut their target price on Hershey from $265.00 to $218.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 12th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Hershey in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Hershey from $245.00 to $186.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 27th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $246.05.

Hershey Trading Down 1.5 %

HSY opened at $193.06 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $196.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $226.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.83, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The Hershey Company has a one year low of $183.74 and a one year high of $276.88.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The company reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 54.74% and a net margin of 17.11%. Hershey’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.17 EPS. Analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 9.54 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 17th will be given a dividend of $1.192 per share. This represents a $4.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.46%.

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; pantry items, such as baking ingredients, toppings, beverages, and sundae syrups; and snack items comprising spreads, bars, snack bites, mixes, popcorn, and pretzels.