Hershey Company (The) $HSY Position Trimmed by Kestra Advisory Services LLC

Kestra Advisory Services LLC decreased its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 12.3% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 26,588 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,745 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $5,527,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Syon Capital LLC increased its stake in Hershey by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 3,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $550,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Haverford Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 6,796 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,237,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $466,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Venture Visionary Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 8,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,462,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $559,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the subject of several recent research reports. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Hershey in a report on Monday, April 13th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Mizuho lowered their target price on Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Barclays dropped their target price on Hershey from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $240.00 price target on Hershey in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, DA Davidson raised Hershey to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $214.06.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.43, for a total transaction of $260,145.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 54,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,485,753.85. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

NYSE:HSY opened at $170.01 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $34.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.66, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.11. Hershey Company has a one year low of $161.29 and a one year high of $239.48. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $182.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $197.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.09 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 8.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $1.452 dividend. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 108.19%.

Hershey 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.