The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Sold by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Clearbridge Investments LLC cut its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 9.3% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 7,540 shares of the company’s stock after selling 770 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,386,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings in Hershey by 218.2% during the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Hershey by 55.0% during the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Hershey in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in Hershey during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

Hershey stock opened at $191.84 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market cap of $38.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.01, a PEG ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $196.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $193.82. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $178.82 and a 12-month high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 16.76% and a return on equity of 45.36%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.01 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on HSY shares. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $179.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Hershey from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $184.00 to $163.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Hershey from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $198.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total value of $107,153.46. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $644,912.46. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total value of $107,153.46. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $644,912.46. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total value of $286,245.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 34,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,531,729.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.