Yousif Capital Management LLC Sells 3,819 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Yousif Capital Management LLC decreased its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 13.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 25,221 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,819 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $4,702,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at $345,000. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 11,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,303,000 after acquiring an additional 1,211 shares in the last quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 419.0% in the 4th quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,427,000 after acquiring an additional 6,180 shares in the last quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 66.7% in the 4th quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc. now owns 23,235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,332,000 after acquiring an additional 9,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Significant Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at $1,659,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $369,681.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 38,728 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,196,824.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total value of $89,938.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at $369,681.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,453 shares of company stock valued at $665,534. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on HSY. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $213.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Edward Jones reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, April 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $223.33.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $186.23 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $191.74 and its 200 day moving average is $190.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $37.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.34. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $178.82 and a fifty-two week 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.72 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 16.67% and a return on equity of 51.79%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $1.37 dividend. This is an increase from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 60.55%.

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.