Independent Wealth Network Inc. Sells 94 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Independent Wealth Network Inc. decreased its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,067 shares of the company’s stock after selling 94 shares during the quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,016,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Hershey by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,057,990 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,045,383,000 after acquiring an additional 216,715 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Hershey by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,489,322 shares of the company’s stock worth $886,746,000 after acquiring an additional 290,920 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Hershey by 57.2% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,648,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $613,352,000 after acquiring an additional 964,019 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Hershey during the 4th quarter worth $411,828,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Hershey by 26.1% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,738,558 shares of the company’s stock worth $442,308,000 after acquiring an additional 360,132 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the topic of a number of research reports. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Hershey in a research report on Wednesday, September 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Hershey from $264.00 to $262.00 in a report on Monday, July 17th. Argus cut their target price on Hershey from $315.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Hershey from $252.00 to $249.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 12th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Hershey in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $264.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Pamela M. Arway sold 187 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.66, for a total value of $45,190.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,752,738.14. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Hershey Trust Co Trustee In Tr sold 10,292 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.43, for a total value of $2,680,345.56. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 2,066,119 shares in the company, valued at $538,079,371.17. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Pamela M. Arway sold 187 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.66, for a total value of $45,190.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,529 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,752,738.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 57,218 shares of company stock valued at $14,510,436. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Down 0.5 %

HSY stock traded down $0.98 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $211.48. 292,953 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,119,899. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $225.21 and its 200 day moving average is $245.89. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $206.69 and a twelve month high of $276.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $43.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.29.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The company reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 55.74% and a net margin of 16.49%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.80 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.55 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 18th were issued a dividend of $1.192 per share. This is a positive change from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.04. This represents a $4.77 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 17th. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 54.89%.

Hershey 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; pantry items, such as baking ingredients, toppings, beverages, and sundae syrups; and snack items comprising spreads, bars, snack bites, mixes, popcorn, and pretzels.