The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Sold by Hills Bank & Trust Co

Hills Bank & Trust Co reduced its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 13.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,014 shares of the company’s stock after selling 156 shares during the period. Hills Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Hershey were worth $189,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA grew its holdings in Hershey by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 1.1% during the third quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 5,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,052,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 5,839 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,089,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Hershey by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Hershey by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,138 shares of the company’s stock valued at $212,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

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. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Hershey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Hershey from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. One equities research 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 data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $213.06.

Hershey Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE HSY traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $200.08. 1,470,935 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,984,141. The business has a 50 day moving average of $192.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $190.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.83, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.33. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $178.82 and a 1 year high of $275.62.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $3.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 50.15% and a net margin of 18.13%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.96 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.31%.

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; 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.