The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Position Trimmed by State of Alaska Department of Revenue

State of Alaska Department of Revenue trimmed its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 5.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 46,369 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,925 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Hershey were worth $9,017,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 20.6% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,661 shares of the company’s stock valued at $683,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 5,839 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,089,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mount Lucas Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Mount Lucas Management LP now owns 9,619 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,793,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.54, for a total value of $306,810.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 37,228 shares in the company, valued at $7,614,615.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 4,500 shares of company stock worth $859,950 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on HSY. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Hershey from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 21st. Citigroup reduced their target price on Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays reduced their target price on Hershey from $210.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $179.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Edward Jones restated a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, April 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $209.67.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY traded down $0.90 on Wednesday, reaching $183.75. 1,014,813 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,885,680. The firm has a market cap of $37.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.21, a P/E/G ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.36. 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 $251.71. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $194.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $192.22.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $3.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 50.15% and a net margin of 18.13%. Hershey’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.96 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th were given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.31%.

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.