The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Sold by Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.

Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. reduced its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 69,469 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,600 shares during the quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $12,952,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Reliant Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,173,000. Rheos Capital Works Inc. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 21.4% during the 3rd quarter. Rheos Capital Works Inc. now owns 152,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,592,000 after purchasing an additional 27,000 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at $1,603,000. Fulcrum Capital LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 35.9% during the fourth quarter. Fulcrum Capital LLC now owns 37,305 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,955,000 after buying an additional 9,858 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in Hershey by 396.6% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 173,865 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,599,000 after acquiring an additional 138,857 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Down 2.0 %

HSY opened at $185.80 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $37.89 billion, a PE ratio of 20.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $178.82 and a fifty-two week high of $276.88. The business has a 50-day moving average of $193.61 and a 200-day moving average of $191.43.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.72 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 16.67% and a return on equity of 51.79%. Hershey’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This is a positive change from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.95%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.55%.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total transaction of $89,938.62. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at $369,681.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total value of $89,938.62. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $369,681.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Charles R. Raup sold 2,065 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.85, for a total transaction of $396,170.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 14,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,833,624.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,518 shares of company stock valued at $1,066,414. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on HSY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Barclays increased their price objective on Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $213.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $224.81.

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