Columbia Asset Management Trims Stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Columbia Asset Management decreased its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 88.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,524 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,000 shares during the period. Columbia Asset Management’s holdings in Hershey were worth $432,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Beacon Financial Group grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 73.0% during the 1st quarter. Beacon Financial Group now owns 3,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $641,000 after acquiring an additional 1,582 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 12.9% during the 1st quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,273 shares of the company’s stock worth $724,000 after acquiring an additional 489 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 29.8% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,824 shares of the company’s stock worth $312,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares during the period. Apella Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the 1st quarter worth approximately $309,000. Finally, Triangle Securities Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Triangle Securities Wealth Management now owns 2,615 shares of the company’s stock worth $447,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HSY has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Hershey from $183.00 to $177.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Hershey from $173.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays boosted their price target on Hershey from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on Hershey from $162.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $158.84.

Hershey Price Performance

NYSE HSY opened at $161.46 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $163.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $166.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.81, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $140.13 and a 1-year high of $208.03.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.81 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. The company’s revenue was down 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.07 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. Hershey’s payout ratio is 67.57%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.11, for a total transaction of $153,025.14. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $470,387.34. The trade was a 24.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 31,210 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.80, for a total value of $5,018,568.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 193,624 shares in the company, valued at $31,134,739.20. This trade represents a 13.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.