Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) Position Lowered by Hartford Investment Management Co.

Hartford Investment Management Co. reduced its position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 43.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,465 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,953 shares during the period. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Hershey Company (The) were worth $3,271,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) by 3,144.3% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 10,106,348 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,104,118,000 after buying an additional 9,794,835 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hershey Company (The) by 2.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,285,024 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,014,388,000 after buying an additional 242,418 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Hershey Company (The) by 1.0% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,194,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $676,773,000 after buying an additional 64,006 shares during the last quarter. Pioneer Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hershey Company (The) by 3.4% in the first quarter. Pioneer Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,965,863 shares of the company’s stock worth $433,270,000 after buying an additional 131,084 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of Hershey Company (The) by 2.7% in the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,524,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $275,846,000 after buying an additional 65,991 shares during the last quarter. 51.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Shares of Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) traded down 0.36% on Wednesday, hitting $105.27. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 384,221 shares. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $107.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $108.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.63 and a beta of 0.38. Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $94.03 and a 52 week high of $116.49.

Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.65 billion. Hershey Company (The) had a net margin of 8.95% and a return on equity of 119.66%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.85 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post $4.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 25th will be given a dividend of $0.656 per share. This represents a $2.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.48%. This is an increase from Hershey Company (The)’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 23rd. Hershey Company (The)’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.66%.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Susquehanna Bancshares Inc reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $115.00 target price (down previously from $119.00) on shares of Hershey Company (The) in a report on Friday, June 2nd. BidaskClub cut Hershey Company (The) from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 27th. Zacks Investment Research cut Hershey Company (The) from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 5th. Deutsche Bank AG reduced their target price on Hershey Company (The) from $117.00 to $114.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 28th. Finally, J P Morgan Chase & Co reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $116.00 target price (down previously from $119.00) on shares of Hershey Company (The) in a report on Wednesday, June 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.14.

In other Hershey Company (The) news, SVP Terence L. O’day sold 7,678 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.00, for a total transaction of $821,546.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 37,428 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,004,796. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP D Michael Wege sold 14,440 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.55, for a total transaction of $1,668,542.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 42,506 shares in the company, valued at $4,911,568.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 105,086 shares of company stock worth $11,922,182 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Company (The) Company Profile

The Hershey Company is a producer of chocolate in North America. The Company’s principal product offerings include chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery products; gum and mint refreshment products; pantry items, such as baking ingredients and beverages, and snack items, such as spreads, meat snacks, bars and snack bites and mixes.

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