US Bancorp DE Has $101.24 Million Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

US Bancorp DE trimmed its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 0.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 405,446 shares of the company’s stock after selling 590 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE owned 0.20% of Hershey worth $101,240,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.36, for a total value of $321,540.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 37,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,999,057.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.36, for a total value of $321,540.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 37,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,999,057.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Pamela M. Arway sold 182 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 9th. The shares were 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 directly owns 15,562 shares in the company, valued at $3,027,742.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,682 shares of company stock worth $953,275. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Argus dropped their target price 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. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $300.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 17th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 31st. BNP Paribas raised shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $268.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $265.00 to $218.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 12th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $249.40.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE:HSY traded up $1.66 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $197.38. The stock had a trading volume of 234,462 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,197,767. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $183.74 and a twelve month high of $276.88. The stock has a market cap of $40.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.11, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.35. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $197.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $228.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.09.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The company reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.13. Hershey had a net margin of 17.11% and a return on equity of 54.74%. The business had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.17 EPS. Hershey’s revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 17th will be paid a $1.192 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 16th. This represents a $4.77 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.