WealthTrust Axiom LLC Has $254,000 Stake in Hershey Company (The) (HSY)

WealthTrust Axiom LLC held its position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,371 shares of the company’s stock at the end of the second quarter. WealthTrust Axiom LLC’s holdings in Hershey Company (The) were worth $254,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Conning Inc. raised its position in Hershey Company (The) by 5.0% in the first quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 4,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $439,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. raised its position in Hershey Company (The) by 323.5% in the fourth quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 7,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $745,000 after buying an additional 5,500 shares in the last quarter. Pennsylvania Trust Co raised its position in Hershey Company (The) by 1.7% in the first quarter. Pennsylvania Trust Co now owns 48,420 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,290,000 after buying an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P raised its position in Hershey Company (The) by 9.0% in the first quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 124,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,647,000 after buying an additional 10,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its position in Hershey Company (The) by 499.8% in the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 15,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,733,000 after buying an additional 13,216 shares in the last quarter. 51.16% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Shares of Hershey Company (HSY) opened at 105.65 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $107.82 and a 200-day moving average of $108.63. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $94.03 and a 1-year high of $116.49. The company has a market cap of $22.44 billion, a PE ratio of 33.75 and a beta of 0.38.

Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.65 billion. Hershey Company (The) had a net margin of 8.95% and a return on equity of 119.66%. Hershey Company (The)’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.85 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post $4.82 EPS for the current year.

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

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HSY has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank AG cut their target price on shares of Hershey Company (The) from $117.00 to $114.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 28th. Credit Suisse Group reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Hershey Company (The) in a research report on Sunday, April 23rd. J P Morgan Chase & Co reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $116.00 target price (down previously from $119.00) on shares of Hershey Company (The) in a research report on Wednesday, June 28th. BidaskClub lowered shares of Hershey Company (The) from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 27th. Finally, Susquehanna Bancshares Inc reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 target price (down previously from $119.00) on shares of Hershey Company (The) in a research report on Friday, June 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.14.

In other Hershey Company (The) news, insider Michele Buck sold 400 shares of Hershey Company (The) stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.00, for a total value of $43,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 166,097 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,938,476. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Terence L. O’day sold 7,678 shares of Hershey Company (The) stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.00, for a total transaction of $821,546.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 37,428 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,004,796. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 105,086 shares of company stock valued at $11,922,182. 0.92% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Hershey Company (The)

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.