Hershey Company (The) $HSY Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 3.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 350,176 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,139 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $55,191,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Hershey in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,303,889,000. GQG Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the second quarter worth $485,436,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the second quarter worth $274,871,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,210,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $251,706,000 after buying an additional 19,772 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 11.8% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,128,711 shares of the company’s stock valued at $198,032,000 after acquiring an additional 118,825 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on HSY. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Barclays reduced their price objective on Hershey from $178.00 to $171.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $201.00 target price (down from $208.00) on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $194.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $178.00 target price (down from $190.00) on shares of Hershey in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Hershey presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $193.81.

Hershey Trading Down 2.4%

HSY opened at $167.21 on Wednesday. Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $156.16 and a fifty-two week high of $239.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.92, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.08. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $168.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $188.75.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $2.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.53. The firm had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.25 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 14.63% and a return on equity of 37.12%. The company’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.30 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 16th will be issued a $1.4520 dividend. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.72%.

Hershey Profile

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is a global confectionery and snack food manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Founded by Milton S. Hershey in 1894, the company began as a chocolate producer and has grown into one of the largest branded snack businesses in North America.

Hershey’s portfolio includes chocolate, non-chocolate confectionery, gum and mints, and salty snacks. Its brands include Hershey’s, Reese’s, Hershey’s Kisses, Kit Kat in the United States under license from Nestlé, Jolly Rancher, Twizzlers, Ice Breakers, SkinnyPop and Dot’s Pretzels.