CHICAGO TRUST Co NA Buys Shares of 2,004 The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

CHICAGO TRUST Co NA purchased a new position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $384,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Hershey by 24.4% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 9,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,886,000 after acquiring an additional 1,927 shares during the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel raised its position in shares of Hershey by 60.8% during the 3rd quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 20,730 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,976,000 after purchasing an additional 7,835 shares during the period. First Affirmative Financial Network bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $212,000. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 1,145 shares of the company’s stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its position in Hershey by 41.6% during the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 5,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,045,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on HSY shares. Argus cut Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Hershey in a research report on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $185.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Hershey from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $184.00 to $163.00 in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $195.68.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total transaction of $286,245.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,531,729.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $644,912.46. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hershey Price Performance

NYSE:HSY opened at $185.98 on Monday. The Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $178.82 and a 52-week high of $211.92. 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 $37.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.43, a PEG ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 0.37. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $195.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $193.52.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.17). The business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 16.76% and a return on equity of 45.36%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.01 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.31%.

Hershey Company 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.