Heartland Advisors Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Heartland Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 9.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 97,178 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,006 shares during the quarter. Hershey accounts for about 1.0% of Heartland Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Heartland Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $17,684,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT boosted its holdings in Hershey by 42.1% in the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Hershey by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 73,905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,449,000 after purchasing an additional 7,607 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Hershey by 40.4% in the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 7,006 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,275,000 after purchasing an additional 2,015 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in Hershey by 26.9% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 554,907 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,982,000 after purchasing an additional 117,744 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. boosted its holdings in Hershey by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. now owns 6,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,124,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY opened at $176.93 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.24. The company has a market capitalization of $35.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.95, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.09. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $192.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $198.75. Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $160.07 and a 1 year high of $239.48.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 9.12% and a return on equity of 28.98%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.452 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 108.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Hershey from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Hershey from $211.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Hershey from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $218.06.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.10, for a total transaction of $291,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 57,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,198,599.50. This represents a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Company Profile

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is a leading North American chocolatier and snack manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The company develops, produces and markets a wide range of confectionery and snack products for retail, foodservice and international customers. Hershey’s business spans manufacturing, branded product marketing, packaging and distribution across grocery, convenience, mass merchant and e-commerce channels.

Hershey’s product portfolio centers on chocolate and sugar confectionery, including core brands such as Hershey’s, Reese’s, Hershey’s Kisses and Twizzlers, alongside non-chocolate snacks and confectionery brands.