3,781 Hershey Company (The) $HSY Shares Sold by Confluence Wealth Services Inc.

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 64.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,080 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,781 shares during the period. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $328,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. Bell Investment Advisors Inc purchased a new position in Hershey in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Hershey in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Hershey in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Hershey in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Latitude Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on HSY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Hershey from $183.00 to $166.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 30th. Evercore boosted their price target on Hershey from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price objective on Hershey from $195.00 to $190.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $178.00 price objective (down from $190.00) on shares of Hershey in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $201.00 price objective (down from $208.00) on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $193.81.

Hershey Stock Down 1.8%

HSY stock opened at $173.29 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $34.83 billion, a PE ratio of 20.51, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.08. Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $156.16 and a 1 year high of $239.48. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $168.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $188.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $2.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.53. The firm had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 14.63% and a return on equity of 37.12%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.30 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 8.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be given a $1.4520 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 65.72%.

About Hershey

The Hershey Company is a global confectionery company best known for its chocolate and candy products. Milton S. Hershey established the Hershey Chocolate Company in 1894, and the company is headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Its portfolio includes chocolate bars, packaged candy, gum, mints and other snacks. Well-known brands include Hershey’s, Reese’s, Kisses, Jolly Rancher and Ice Breakers; the company also sells salty snacks under brands such as SkinnyPop and Dot’s Pretzels. Hershey sells its products primarily in North America and also serves consumers in international markets through its operations and distribution partners.