BRYN MAWR TRUST Co Has $27.23 Million Stock Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

BRYN MAWR TRUST Co trimmed its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 26.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 107,017 shares of the company’s stock after selling 38,427 shares during the quarter. Hershey accounts for 1.2% of BRYN MAWR TRUST Co’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. BRYN MAWR TRUST Co owned 0.05% of Hershey worth $27,226,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arlington Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 121.3% during the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Kepos Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. 56.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Hershey in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Hershey from $252.00 to $249.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Hershey from $260.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Hershey from $264.00 to $262.00 in a research note on Monday, July 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Hershey from $270.00 to $245.00 in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $262.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CEO Michele Buck sold 14,251 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.92, for a total value of $3,704,119.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 117,500 shares in the company, valued at $30,540,600. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Michele Buck sold 14,251 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.92, for a total transaction of $3,704,119.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 117,500 shares in the company, valued at $30,540,600. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Hershey Trust Co Trustee In Tr sold 117,174 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.58, for a total value of $30,650,374.92. Following the sale, the insider now owns 2,138,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $559,369,211.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 279,860 shares of company stock worth $72,618,851. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hershey Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of HSY traded up $1.19 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $210.22. 105,088 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,109,942. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $207.50 and a 52 week high of $276.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.98 billion, a PE ratio of 24.05, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.29. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $228.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $246.88.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 27th. The company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 55.74% and a net margin of 16.49%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.80 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 18th will be issued a $1.192 dividend. This is an increase from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. This represents a $4.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 17th. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 54.89%.

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