M&T Bank Corp Decreases Stock Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

M&T Bank Corp trimmed its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 27,980 shares of the company’s stock after selling 301 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Hershey were worth $5,217,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA raised its position 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 valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its position in shares of Hershey by 1.1% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Hershey by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 5,839 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,089,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Hershey by 4.2% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 58 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HSY has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $213.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, March 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $213.06.

Hershey Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE HSY opened at $196.49 on Tuesday. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $178.82 and a 52 week high of $275.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $192.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $190.80. The firm has a market cap of $40.07 billion, a PE ratio of 19.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.33.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted 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 return on equity of 50.15% and a net margin of 18.13%. The business had revenue of $3.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.96 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.31%.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.83, for a total value of $278,745.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,728 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,196,824.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.