Stephens Inc. AR Sells 5,340 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Stephens Inc. AR cut its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 9.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 52,405 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,340 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Hershey were worth $9,646,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Friedenthal Financial grew its position in Hershey by 38,266.7% during the fourth quarter. Friedenthal Financial now owns 5,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,047,000 after buying an additional 5,740 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Hershey by 166.8% during the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 39,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,332,000 after buying an additional 24,509 shares in the last quarter. Winnow Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey during the third quarter worth about $1,070,000. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its holdings in Hershey by 6.4% during the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 42,538 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,957,000 after purchasing an additional 2,573 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Hershey by 9.4% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 60,978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,406,000 after purchasing an additional 5,239 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HSY has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, February 6th. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on Hershey from $230.00 to $208.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Hershey from $185.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Hershey from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $215.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $218.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Jason Reiman sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were 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 owned 41,036 shares in the company, valued at $9,277,008.52. The trade was a 4.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.10, for a total transaction of $291,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 57,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,198,599.50. This trade represents a 2.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 10,000 shares of company stock worth $2,189,090 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY stock opened at $186.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $202.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $196.91. Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $150.04 and a fifty-two week high of $239.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.90 billion, a PE ratio of 34.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.07.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $1.452 dividend. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 108.19%.

Hershey Company Profile

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.