ORG Partners LLC Has $80,000 Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

ORG Partners LLC lowered its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 55.0% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 402 shares of the company’s stock after selling 492 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $80,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Hershey by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 108,993 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,807,000 after buying an additional 6,538 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 195.9% in the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 2,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $420,000 after purchasing an additional 1,391 shares during the period. Comerica Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 3rd quarter valued at about $10,288,000. Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 3rd quarter valued at about $957,000. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 16,051 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,211,000 after purchasing an additional 1,948 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of HSY traded up $2.08 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $188.87. The stock had a trading volume of 896,562 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,860,157. The Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $178.82 and a 12 month high of $248.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.20 billion, a PE ratio of 18.70, a PEG ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.36. 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 is $193.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $192.21.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $3.25 billion during 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%. Hershey’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.96 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.59 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 54.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.54, for a total transaction of $306,810.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 37,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,614,615.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,500 shares of company stock worth $859,950. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on HSY. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $213.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. BNP Paribas downgraded Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Argus decreased their target price on Hershey from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on Hershey from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $209.67.

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.