West Coast Financial LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

West Coast Financial LLC increased its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 45,833 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 698 shares during the period. West Coast Financial LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $8,790,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Hershey by 14.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,341,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,372,965,000 after buying an additional 2,158,912 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Hershey by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,487,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,327,000 after acquiring an additional 90,329 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 787,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,743,000 after purchasing an additional 25,780 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 23.2% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 783,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,962,000 after purchasing an additional 147,215 shares during the period. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Hershey by 297.9% in the second quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 717,831 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,959,000 after purchasing an additional 537,419 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hershey Trading Down 0.1 %

HSY traded down $0.19 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $187.38. 153,257 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,690,374. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.84, a P/E/G ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 0.37. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $178.82 and a 52 week high of $211.92. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $195.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $193.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.17). Hershey had a net margin of 16.76% and a return on equity of 45.36%. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.01 EPS. Hershey’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on HSY. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $230.00 to $205.00 in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Hershey from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Citigroup lowered shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $195.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Argus downgraded Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $197.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total transaction of $286,245.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 34,228 shares in the company, valued at $6,531,729.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, 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 transaction of $107,153.46. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $644,912.46. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,228 shares in the company, valued at $6,531,729.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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; 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.