The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) is Summit Global Investments’ 10th Largest Position

Summit Global Investments cut its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 121,804 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,217 shares during the quarter. Hershey makes up about 1.5% of Summit Global Investments’ holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in Hershey were worth $22,709,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Accurate Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 16.3% in the third quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,370 shares of the company’s stock worth $261,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Vicus Capital purchased a new position in Hershey during the third quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position in Hershey by 3.9% during the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 58,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,630,000 after acquiring an additional 2,200 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. raised its position in Hershey by 3.0% during the third quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 29,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,965,000 after acquiring an additional 872 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its position in Hershey by 2.3% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 67,879 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,581,000 after acquiring an additional 1,507 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on HSY shares. Morgan Stanley cut Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $191.00 to $183.00 in a research report on Monday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Hershey from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $212.78.

Hershey Price Performance

NYSE:HSY traded up $1.33 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $195.03. 1,554,308 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,964,452. The Hershey Company has a one year low of $178.82 and a one year high of $276.71. The company has a market capitalization of $39.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.33. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $191.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $190.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.72 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 51.79% and a net margin of 16.67%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.02 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.83, for a total value of $278,745.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 38,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,196,824.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.83, for a total transaction of $278,745.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,728 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,196,824.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total transaction of $89,938.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $369,681.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,453 shares of company stock valued at $665,534. Corporate 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.