Baillie Gifford & Co. Has $24.74 Million Position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY)

Baillie Gifford & Co. cut its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 21.3% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 144,657 shares of the company’s stock after selling 39,059 shares during the quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $24,741,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kennon Green & Company LLC increased its position in Hershey by 33.3% during the 1st quarter. Kennon Green & Company LLC now owns 43,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,379,000 after purchasing an additional 10,784 shares during the period. William Allan Corp raised its stake in Hershey by 173.1% during the first quarter. William Allan Corp now owns 18,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,180,000 after buying an additional 11,785 shares during the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in Hershey by 9.5% in the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 31,925 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,460,000 after buying an additional 2,757 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its position in Hershey by 8.1% during the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 18,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,186,000 after acquiring an additional 1,390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in Hershey by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 21,151 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,617,000 after acquiring an additional 1,582 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Hershey from $173.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered Hershey from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Hershey from $147.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $167.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $183.00 to $177.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $160.16.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.11, for a total value of $153,025.14. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 2,994 shares in the company, valued at $470,387.34. The trade was a 24.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $900,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 61,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,037,420. The trade was a 7.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 99,021 shares of company stock worth $17,189,088. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $187.54 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $38.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.93 and a beta of 0.30. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $167.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $165.16. Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $208.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.81 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 38.70%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.07 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.92%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.57%.

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.