Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC lessened its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,818 shares of the company’s stock after selling 66 shares during the quarter. Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $349,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Hershey by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,257 shares of the company’s stock valued at $421,000 after buying an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 18.8% during the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 5,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,005,000 after acquiring an additional 816 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 163.8% in the first quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 4,387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $853,000 after purchasing an additional 2,724 shares in the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Hershey in the first quarter worth $9,888,000. Finally, Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its stake in Hershey by 19.1% during the first quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 2,663 shares of the company’s stock valued at $518,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HSY has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Hershey in a research note on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $185.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America dropped their price target on Hershey from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Hershey from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $184.00 to $163.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Hershey from $204.00 to $202.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $193.50.

Hershey Trading Down 0.6 %

HSY stock traded down $1.12 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $183.55. The company had a trading volume of 213,892 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,673,460. The company has a market capitalization of $37.12 billion, a PE ratio of 18.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 0.37. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $193.73 and a 200 day moving average of $193.03. The Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $178.82 and a 12 month high of $211.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 16.76%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.01 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.31%.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were 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 owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $644,912.46. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.