Gallacher Capital Management LLC Grows Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Gallacher Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 305.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,838 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,645 shares during the period. Gallacher Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $889,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of HSY. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 14.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,341,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,372,965,000 after purchasing an additional 2,158,912 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at about $349,448,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 6.5% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,487,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $289,327,000 after buying an additional 90,329 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. now owns 781,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $151,715,000 after acquiring an additional 112,304 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Hershey by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 777,761 shares of the company’s stock valued at $145,006,000 after acquiring an additional 19,018 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Argus cut shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Barclays dropped their price objective on 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 target price on Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Hershey from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $202.79.

Hershey Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $199.80 on Friday. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $178.82 and a 12-month high of $213.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $193.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $193.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 0.37.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted 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 return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 16.76%. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.01 earnings per share. Hershey’s revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total transaction of $107,153.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $644,912.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 34,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,531,729.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,538 shares of company stock valued at $667,793 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.