Griffin Asset Management Inc. Sells 136 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Griffin Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 1.9% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,062 shares of the company’s stock after selling 136 shares during the quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,374,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $349,448,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Hershey by 18,495.8% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 295,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,125,000 after purchasing an additional 294,083 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Hershey by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,182,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,830,683,000 after purchasing an additional 271,636 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,090,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd raised its position in shares of Hershey by 1,050.7% in the 3rd quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 128,820 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,776,000 after purchasing an additional 117,625 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Price Performance

NYSE HSY traded up $0.15 on Friday, hitting $183.83. The company had a trading volume of 5,542,376 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,450,476. The company has a market capitalization of $37.18 billion, a PE ratio of 18.22, a PEG ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.37. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $194.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $192.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $178.82 and a 12-month high of $251.73.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $3.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 18.13% and a return on equity of 50.15%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.96 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 9.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 54.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Argus reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Edward Jones reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $179.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, June 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $209.67.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.93, for a total transaction of $274,395.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 35,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,535,723.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders sold 4,500 shares of company stock valued at $859,950 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hershey 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.