Summit Place Financial Advisors LLC Sells 571 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Summit Place Financial Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 14,543 shares of the company’s stock after selling 571 shares during the quarter. Summit Place Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $2,789,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 14.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,341,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,372,965,000 after purchasing an additional 2,158,912 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 30,461.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 573,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,100,130,000 after buying an additional 571,766 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 297.9% during the second quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 717,831 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,959,000 after buying an additional 537,419 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the second quarter valued at approximately $82,123,000. Finally, Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 3,404.3% in the 1st quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 256,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,879,000 after acquiring an additional 249,129 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HSY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Argus downgraded Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Hershey in a research report on Monday, August 12th. They set a “sell” rating and a $185.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $188.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $204.00 to $202.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Hershey in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “sell” rating and a $165.00 price target for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $191.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total value of $107,153.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at $644,912.46. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

Hershey stock opened at $182.11 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.96, a PEG ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a 50-day moving average of $192.50 and a 200-day moving average of $192.71. 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 Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $178.82 and a 1 year high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 16.76% and a return on equity of 45.36%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.01 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.45 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 54.31%.

About Hershey

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.