Commonwealth Financial Services LLC Sells 70 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

by · The Markets Daily

Commonwealth Financial Services LLC lowered its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY – Free Report) by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,145 shares of the company’s stock after selling 70 shares during the period. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $220,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in 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 period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 19.1% in the first quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 2,663 shares of the company’s stock worth $518,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the period. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Hershey during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Hershey by 13.3% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 486 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 24.8% in the first quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 824 shares of the company’s stock valued at $160,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on HSY. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $230.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Hershey from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $184.00 to $163.00 in a report on Thursday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $188.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Citigroup lowered shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $195.00 to $182.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $192.80.

Read Our Latest Analysis on HSY

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total transaction of $107,153.46. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $644,912.46. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY traded up $0.77 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $182.75. 64,120 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,674,647. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.86. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $178.82 and a 1 year high of $211.92. The stock has a market cap of $36.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.04, a P/E/G ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $193.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $192.88.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for 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%. Hershey’s revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.01 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.31%.

About Hershey

(Free Report)

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.

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