The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Acquired by Bath Savings Trust Co

Bath Savings Trust Co grew its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 44.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,888 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,471 shares during the quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co’s holdings in Hershey were worth $4,467,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Great Diamond Partners LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC now owns 5,624 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,431,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its position in Hershey by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 543 shares of the company’s stock worth $138,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Hershey by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,296 shares of the company’s stock worth $839,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC lifted its position in Hershey by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 1,423 shares of the company’s stock worth $362,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, V Wealth Advisors LLC lifted 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 worth $293,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.47% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 37,316 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,999,057.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.36, for a total transaction of $321,540.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 37,316 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,999,057.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Hershey Trust Co Trustee In Tr sold 24,078 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.47, for a total transaction of $6,271,596.66. Following the sale, the insider now owns 2,114,347 shares in the company, valued at $550,723,963.09. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 81,296 shares of company stock worth $20,782,032 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 research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $260.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 28th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Hershey in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Hershey in a research report on Wednesday, September 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $264.00 to $262.00 in a report on Monday, July 17th. Finally, Argus cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $315.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $264.11.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY traded up $0.64 during trading on Monday, hitting $213.00. The stock had a trading volume of 367,088 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,121,075. The firm has a market cap of $43.55 billion, a PE ratio of 24.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.29. The Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $206.69 and a 12 month high of $276.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $225.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $245.89.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.12. The firm 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.80 EPS. Analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.55 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 18th were given a $1.192 dividend. This represents a $4.77 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. This is a positive change from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 17th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.89%.

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.