Acadian Asset Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Acadian Asset Management LLC lowered its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 5.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 524,995 shares of the company’s stock after selling 29,460 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC owned about 0.26% of Hershey worth $102,094,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at about $417,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its stake in Hershey by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 3,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $679,000 after buying an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Radnor Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $232,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on HSY shares. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on Hershey from $237.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. BNP Paribas cut Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Hershey from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Barclays cut their price objective on Hershey from $210.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Edward Jones reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, April 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $205.65.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY stock traded down $2.19 on Friday, reaching $191.15. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,196,187 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,610,709. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $178.82 and a 52 week high of $248.93. The company has a market capitalization of $38.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 0.36. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $192.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $192.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $3.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 50.15% and a net margin of 18.13%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.96 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 9.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 54.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.83, for a total transaction of $278,745.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,196,824.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,500 shares of company stock valued at $859,950. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Hershey

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.