Stillwater Capital Advisors LLC Has $12.67 Million Stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Stillwater Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 50,753 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the period. Hershey accounts for approximately 2.2% of Stillwater Capital Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Stillwater Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $12,673,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HSY. Blair William & Co. IL increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 3.1% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 30,767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,665,000 after purchasing an additional 916 shares during the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the first quarter valued at $238,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 28.8% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,057,990 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,045,383,000 after purchasing an additional 216,715 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 10.8% in the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 32,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,972,000 after acquiring an additional 3,129 shares in the last quarter. 56.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $252.00 to $249.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $260.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 28th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $270.00 to $245.00 in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Finally, Argus cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $315.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $264.11.

Hershey Stock Down 0.8 %

HSY stock opened at $210.75 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $225.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $245.89. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $43.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.29.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released 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. Hershey had a return on equity of 55.74% and a net margin of 16.49%. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.80 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 18th were paid a $1.192 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 17th. This represents a $4.77 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. This is an increase from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.89%.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Hershey Trust Co Trustee In Tr sold 10,292 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.43, for a total value of $2,680,345.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 2,066,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $538,079,371.17. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Hershey news, major shareholder Hershey Trust Co Trustee In Tr sold 10,292 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.43, for a total transaction of $2,680,345.56. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,066,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $538,079,371.17. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 14,251 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.73, for a total transaction of $3,402,141.23. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 111,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,678,316.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 57,218 shares of company stock valued at $14,510,436 over the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.