Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC Lowers Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 3.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,818 shares of the company’s stock after selling 66 shares during the period. Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $349,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 55.0% in the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Hershey during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Hershey during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HSY has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Hershey from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $184.00 to $163.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Hershey from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Citigroup cut Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $195.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $226.00 to $209.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $193.50.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY traded down $1.12 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $183.55. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 213,892 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,673,460. The Hershey Company has a one year low of $178.82 and a one year high of $211.92. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $193.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $193.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market cap of $37.12 billion, a PE ratio of 18.31, a P/E/G ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 0.37.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.01 earnings per share. Hershey’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 54.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total transaction of $107,153.46. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at $644,912.46. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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.