National Bank of Canada FI Sells 79,433 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

National Bank of Canada FI lowered its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 45.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 94,432 shares of the company’s stock after selling 79,433 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Hershey were worth $18,133,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Alliance lifted its holdings in Hershey by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 1,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $212,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. AJOVista LLC bought a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter worth $153,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. increased its stake in Hershey by 1,263.3% in the 4th quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 15,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,816,000 after buying an additional 13,997 shares in the last quarter. Reliant Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,173,000. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 78,757.1% in the fourth quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 5,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 5,513 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hershey Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $198.11 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.63, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.33. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $192.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $190.85. The Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $178.82 and a 1-year high of $275.89.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.33. Hershey had a return on equity of 50.15% and a net margin of 18.13%. The company had revenue of $3.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.96 earnings per share. Hershey’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.31%.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $296,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 40,228 shares in the company, valued at $7,961,121.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Hershey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. One equities research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $213.06.

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.