Occidental Asset Management LLC Trims Stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Occidental Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 17.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,504 shares of the company’s stock after selling 329 shares during the quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $288,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Hershey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Integrated Advisors Network LLC boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 1,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $421,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at $816,000. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at $564,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $644,912.46. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total value of $286,245.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,531,729.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total value of $107,153.46. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $644,912.46. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hershey Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of HSY opened at $184.30 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.27, a P/E/G ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $178.82 and a 12-month high of $211.92. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $194.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $193.39.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted 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 business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 16.76% and a return on equity of 45.36%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.01 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 54.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Hershey from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Hershey in a research note on Monday, August 12th. They set a “sell” rating and a $185.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group lowered shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $226.00 to $209.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Hershey from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $184.00 to $163.00 in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their target price for the company from $195.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $195.00.

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.