Ascent Group LLC Sells 2,399 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Ascent Group LLC trimmed its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 63.7% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,365 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,399 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $265,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 964.3% during the first quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 14,974 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,912,000 after buying an additional 13,567 shares in the last quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Hershey by 124.0% in the first quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 289 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. BOKF NA increased its stake in Hershey by 27.1% in the first quarter. BOKF NA now owns 17,303 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,431,000 after acquiring an additional 3,692 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in Hershey in the first quarter valued at about $237,000. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in Hershey by 3.1% in the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 16,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,257,000 after acquiring an additional 503 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.54, for a total transaction of $306,810.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 37,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,614,615.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,500 shares of company stock valued at $867,450. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Argus dropped their target price on Hershey from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Hershey from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 21st. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $179.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, June 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $237.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Edward Jones restated a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, April 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Hershey presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $204.89.

Hershey Trading Down 0.5 %

Hershey stock traded down $0.97 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $192.56. The stock had a trading volume of 2,097,576 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,852,161. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $190.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $192.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.94 billion, a PE ratio of 19.08, a P/E/G ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 0.36. The Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $178.82 and a 12 month high of $235.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

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. Hershey had a net margin of 18.13% and a return on equity of 50.15%. The company had revenue of $3.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.96 EPS. Hershey’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.58 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th were paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 54.31%.

About Hershey

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.