Wellington Management Group LLP Grows Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 4.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,298,629 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 49,524 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 0.64% of Hershey worth $330,384,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Great Diamond Partners LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC now owns 5,624 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,431,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its position in Hershey by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $839,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 1,423 shares of the company’s stock valued at $362,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, V Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. V Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. 56.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Jason Reiman sold 150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.21, for a total transaction of $38,431.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,575 shares in the company, valued at $3,990,470.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.36, for a total value of $321,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 37,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,999,057.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Jason Reiman sold 150 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.21, for a total transaction of $38,431.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 15,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,990,470.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 280,010 shares of company stock worth $72,657,283 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $252.00 to $249.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $260.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 28th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hershey in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $268.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $263.00 to $233.00 in a report on Monday, July 31st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $262.11.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY opened at $213.80 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The company has a market cap of $43.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.60, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.28. The Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $211.49 and a 52-week high of $276.88. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $233.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $247.75.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 27th. The company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 16.49% and a return on equity of 55.74%. The company’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.80 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 18th will be given a $1.192 dividend. This represents a $4.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 17th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 54.78%.

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