The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Sold by Troy Asset Management Ltd

Troy Asset Management Ltd lowered its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 7.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 101,877 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,494 shares during the quarter. Hershey accounts for about 0.6% of Troy Asset Management Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Troy Asset Management Ltd owned about 0.05% of Hershey worth $19,538,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. 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. boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 55.0% during the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Hershey in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC raised its holdings in Hershey by 71.9% during the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 251 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on HSY. Argus lowered Hershey from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Hershey from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $230.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Hershey from $205.00 to $183.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have given a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Hershey currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $190.56.

Hershey Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of HSY traded up $2.82 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $175.67. The company had a trading volume of 3,115,302 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,375,510. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $171.67 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $189.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $192.17. The stock has a market cap of $35.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $2.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.50 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.07 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 16.76% and a return on equity of 45.36%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio is currently 60.89%.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total transaction of $107,153.46. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

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; 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.