The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Sold by Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc.

Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,597 shares of the company’s stock after selling 604 shares during the quarter. Hershey makes up approximately 4.1% of Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $5,518,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Hershey by 143.7% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,465,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $496,039,000 after buying an additional 1,453,819 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Hershey by 18,495.8% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 295,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,125,000 after buying an additional 294,083 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Hershey by 1.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,911,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,983,427,000 after buying an additional 222,960 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new stake in Hershey in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,672,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Hershey by 270.8% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 197,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,478,000 after buying an additional 144,103 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

HSY stock traded down $0.97 on Thursday, reaching $187.17. 1,316,440 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,955,410. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $191.95 and a 200-day moving average of $190.73. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $178.82 and a twelve month high of $276.88. The firm has a market cap of $38.17 billion, a PE ratio of 20.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.72 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 51.79% and a net margin of 16.67%. Hershey’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.02 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $1.37 dividend. This is a positive change from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 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 sale, 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, 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 value of $89,938.62. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at $369,681.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.83, for a total value of $278,745.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 38,728 shares in the company, valued at $7,196,824.24. 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. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Hershey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Piper Sandler cut 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. Morgan Stanley cut Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $191.00 to $183.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $223.33.

Hershey Company 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.