Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 126,285 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 55.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 103,022 shares of the company’s stock after selling 126,285 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.05% of Hershey worth $19,207,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. PFS Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. PFS Investments Inc. now owns 1,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Cassia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cassia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $335,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 3,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $792,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC increased its stake in Hershey by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC now owns 14,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,853,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its stake in Hershey by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 5,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,052,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, insider Charles R. Raup sold 2,065 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.85, for a total transaction of $396,170.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 14,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,833,624.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total value of $89,938.62. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $369,681.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Charles R. Raup sold 2,065 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.85, for a total transaction of $396,170.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,833,624.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,518 shares of company stock valued at $1,066,414 over the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY opened at $193.71 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $39.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.40, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.34. The company’s 50 day moving average is $193.22 and its 200 day moving average is $192.79. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $178.82 and a 12-month high of $276.88.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.07. Hershey had a net margin of 16.67% and a return on equity of 51.79%. The business had revenue of $2.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.02 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 9.59 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. This is an increase from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 60.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $191.00 to $183.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, December 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $225.48.

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.