Intrust Bank NA Lowers Stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Intrust Bank NA lessened its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 23.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,784 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,469 shares during the period. Intrust Bank NA’s holdings in Hershey were worth $892,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.1% in the third quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 5,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,052,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,138 shares of the company’s stock valued at $212,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $296,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 40,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,961,121.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $296,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 40,228 shares in the company, valued at $7,961,121.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of Hershey 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 completion of the transaction, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,453 shares of company stock valued at $665,534. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of HSY traded up $4.53 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $197.00. 484,878 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,937,289. The company has a market capitalization of $40.18 billion, a PE ratio of 21.27, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $191.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $190.64. The Hershey Company has a one year low of $178.82 and a one year high of $276.88.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.66 billion during 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%. The company’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.02 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HSY has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Edward Jones reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, April 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Hershey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, January 29th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Hershey from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $213.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, March 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $212.78.

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.