Cambridge Trust Co. Sells 178 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Cambridge Trust Co. reduced its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 10.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,527 shares of the company’s stock after selling 178 shares during the period. Cambridge Trust Co.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $285,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,911,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,983,427,000 after buying an additional 222,960 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Hershey by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,489,322 shares of the company’s stock valued at $886,746,000 after purchasing an additional 290,920 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Hershey by 57.2% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,648,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $613,352,000 after purchasing an additional 964,019 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Hershey by 143.7% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,465,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $496,039,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453,819 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Hershey by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,779,549 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,052,000 after purchasing an additional 35,393 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.97, for a total transaction of $283,455.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 29,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,634,329.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $369,681.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.97, for a total transaction of $283,455.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 29,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,634,329.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,453 shares of company stock valued at $670,244. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. BNP Paribas cut shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $213.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $223.33.

Hershey Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $185.02 on Friday. The Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $178.82 and a 12 month high of $276.88. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $192.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $190.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market cap of $37.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.34.

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

Hershey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This is a positive change from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.55%.

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.