Legato Capital Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Legato Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 23.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,105 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,556 shares during the quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $938,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted 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 buying an additional 2,158,912 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $349,448,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 297.9% during the 2nd quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 717,831 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,959,000 after buying an additional 537,419 shares during the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Hershey by 3,404.3% during the 1st quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 256,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,879,000 after acquiring an additional 249,129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Hershey by 98.4% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 419,947 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,680,000 after acquiring an additional 208,293 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on HSY. Barclays dropped their price target on Hershey from $210.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $179.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Citigroup lowered Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $195.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Hershey from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on Hershey from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $202.79.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total value of $286,245.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 34,228 shares in the company, valued at $6,531,729.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total value of $107,153.46. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $644,912.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,538 shares of company stock valued at $667,793 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of Hershey stock traded down $4.26 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $192.15. 674,298 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,800,918. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market cap of $38.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.47, a PEG ratio of 4.96 and a beta of 0.36. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $178.82 and a 52 week high of $219.92. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $191.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $193.23.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 16.76%. The company’s revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.01 EPS. Research analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.31%.

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.