Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Reduces Stake in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 15.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 22,603 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,153 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $4,118,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Hershey during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Close Asset Management Ltd increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 339.3% during the 3rd quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd now owns 246 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Hershey from $247.00 to $227.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $249.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Hershey in a research note on Monday, April 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $215.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $218.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Jason Reiman sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total value of $452,140.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 41,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,277,008.52. This represents a 4.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 3,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total value of $791,245.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 34,568 shares in the company, valued at $7,814,787.76. The trade was a 9.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,000 shares of company stock worth $2,189,090. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE HSY opened at $185.83 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.67 billion, a PE ratio of 34.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.07. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $207.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $196.73. Hershey Company has a one year low of $150.04 and a one year high of $239.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.24.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.31. Hershey had a return on equity of 28.98% and a net margin of 9.12%.The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.452 per share. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 108.01%.

About Hershey

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is a leading North American chocolatier and snack manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The company develops, produces and markets a wide range of confectionery and snack products for retail, foodservice and international customers. Hershey’s business spans manufacturing, branded product marketing, packaging and distribution across grocery, convenience, mass merchant and e-commerce channels.

Hershey’s product portfolio centers on chocolate and sugar confectionery, including core brands such as Hershey’s, Reese’s, Hershey’s Kisses and Twizzlers, alongside non-chocolate snacks and confectionery brands.