Cornerstone Advisors LLC Reduces Stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Cornerstone Advisors LLC lowered its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 11.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,100 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,489,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its stake in Hershey by 218.2% in the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Hershey by 55.0% in the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in Hershey in the first quarter worth about $29,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Hershey in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Down 0.0 %

HSY opened at $200.81 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $195.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $193.83. The Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $178.82 and a 12 month high of $213.72. The firm has a market cap of $40.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.90, a PEG ratio of 5.77 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.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.01 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 2.73%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on HSY shares. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Argus downgraded shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $237.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $203.21.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.93, for a total transaction of $274,395.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 35,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,535,723.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.93, for a total value of $274,395.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 35,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,535,723.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the 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 $644,912.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,538 shares of company stock valued at $667,793 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey 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.