Bessemer Group Inc. Trims Stock Position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY)

Bessemer Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 7.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 197,811 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,592 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $33,831,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Capital International Investors increased its position in Hershey by 31.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 12,460,147 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,110,126,000 after purchasing an additional 2,980,997 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 18,311.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,010,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,728,460,000 after purchasing an additional 1,005,127 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at $80,978,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 38.6% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,628,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $275,710,000 after buying an additional 453,428 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,635,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $785,003,000 after buying an additional 247,675 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HSY has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Hershey from $183.00 to $177.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Hershey from $167.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $173.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $158.84.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE:HSY opened at $167.65 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $164.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $165.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $33.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.67, a PEG ratio of 6.28 and a beta of 0.29. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $140.13 and a 1-year high of $208.03.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.15. Hershey had a return on equity of 38.70% and a net margin of 15.32%. The firm had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.07 earnings per share. Hershey’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.57%.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CEO Michele Buck sold 31,210 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.80, for a total transaction of $5,018,568.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 193,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,134,739.20. This trade represents a 13.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.11, for a total value of $153,025.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $470,387.34. This trade represents a 24.55% 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 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.