Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Sells 209 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management trimmed its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 9.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,951 shares of the company’s stock after selling 209 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Hershey were worth $364,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 5.2% in the third quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 29,926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,988,000 after buying an additional 1,477 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,099,000. Gratus Capital LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Gratus Capital LLC now owns 4,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $896,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association acquired a new position in Hershey in the 3rd quarter valued at $12,525,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 4.9% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 11,977 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,396,000 after buying an additional 560 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $199.96 on Thursday. The Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $178.82 and a 52-week high of $275.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $192.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $190.85. The company has a market capitalization of $40.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.33.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $3.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 50.15% and a net margin of 18.13%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.96 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.74%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.83, for a total transaction of $278,745.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 38,728 shares in the company, valued at $7,196,824.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $213.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Barclays raised their price objective on Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Citigroup cut their target price on Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Hershey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $213.06.

Hershey Company 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.