Stegent Equity Advisors Inc. Sells 214 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Stegent Equity Advisors Inc. lessened its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,096 shares of the company’s stock after selling 214 shares during the period. Stegent Equity Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $764,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 754 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its holdings in Hershey by 1.1% during the third quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 5,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,052,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Accurate Wealth Management LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Hershey by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,138 shares of the company’s stock worth $212,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 737 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on HSY. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Hershey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $213.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 15th. Barclays lifted their price target on Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $212.78.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total transaction of $89,938.62. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $369,681.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total value of $89,938.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $369,681.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.83, for a total value of $278,745.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,728 shares in the company, valued at $7,196,824.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,453 shares of company stock valued at $665,534 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of HSY stock traded up $1.39 on Tuesday, reaching $193.86. 2,702,428 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,963,698. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $191.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $190.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.54 billion, a PE ratio of 21.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $178.82 and a 52 week high of $276.88.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.72 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 16.67% and a return on equity of 51.79%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.02 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $1.37 dividend. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.55%.

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.