Madison Asset Management LLC Sells 56,312 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Madison Asset Management LLC lowered its position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 65.5% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 29,602 shares of the company’s stock after selling 56,312 shares during the quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $6,154,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators purchased a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth $9,633,000. Prudential PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 237.3% during the 4th quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 7,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,454,000 after purchasing an additional 5,620 shares during the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 38,266.7% during the 4th quarter. Friedenthal Financial now owns 5,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 5,740 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter worth $2,744,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 126.4% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 84,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,508,000 after purchasing an additional 47,017 shares in the last quarter. 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 dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.43, for a total transaction of $260,145.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 54,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,485,753.85. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hershey Price Performance

NYSE HSY opened at $170.53 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $34.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.76, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.11. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $181.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $197.08. Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $161.43 and a 1 year high of $239.48.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 28.98% and a net margin of 9.12%.The firm’s revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 8.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HSY. TD Cowen raised Hershey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Evercore raised Hershey from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $255.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $211.89.

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.