Railway Pension Investments Ltd Boosts Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Railway Pension Investments Ltd lifted its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 283,703 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,400 shares during the period. Railway Pension Investments Ltd’s holdings in Hershey were worth $70,841,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Institutional & Family Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 121.3% during the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 135 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey during the first quarter worth $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.47% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY traded down $2.04 on Tuesday, reaching $191.03. The company had a trading volume of 218,947 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,198,201. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $196.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $226.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.07 billion, a PE ratio of 20.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.35. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $183.74 and a 1 year high of $276.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The company reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.95 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 54.74% and a net margin of 17.11%. The business’s revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.17 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.192 per share. This represents a $4.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HSY has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $260.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 28th. TD Cowen cut Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $235.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Friday, October 27th. Mizuho reduced their price target on Hershey from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 31st. Argus decreased their price objective on Hershey from $315.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 11th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $265.00 to $218.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 12th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $246.05.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.36, for a total value of $321,540.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 37,316 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,999,057.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Pamela M. Arway sold 182 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.56, for a total value of $35,409.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,562 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,027,742.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.36, for a total transaction of $321,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 37,316 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,999,057.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,682 shares of company stock worth $953,275 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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; pantry items, such as baking ingredients, toppings, beverages, and sundae syrups; and snack items comprising spreads, bars, snack bites, mixes, popcorn, and pretzels.