Stephens Inc. AR Sells 27,769 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Stephens Inc. AR lowered its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 53.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,636 shares of the company’s stock after selling 27,769 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Hershey were worth $5,122,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter worth $9,633,000. Prudential PLC increased its stake in Hershey by 237.3% in the fourth quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 7,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,454,000 after acquiring an additional 5,620 shares during the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial raised its position in Hershey by 38,266.7% during the fourth quarter. Friedenthal Financial now owns 5,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 5,740 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,744,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Hershey by 833.3% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 185,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,940,000 after purchasing an additional 165,458 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $175.98 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $184.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $197.93. The company has a market cap of $35.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.11. Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $160.07 and a 12 month high of $239.48.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.31. Hershey had a return on equity of 28.98% and a net margin of 9.12%.The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.09 earnings per share. Hershey’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 8.43 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a $1.452 dividend. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 108.19%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.43, for a total transaction of $260,145.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 54,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,485,753.85. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the subject of a number of research reports. Mizuho cut their price objective on Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. TD Cowen raised Hershey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings downgraded Hershey from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $247.00 to $227.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $217.50.

Hershey Profile

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is a leading North American chocolatier and snack manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The company develops, produces and markets a wide range of confectionery and snack products for retail, foodservice and international customers. Hershey’s business spans manufacturing, branded product marketing, packaging and distribution across grocery, convenience, mass merchant and e-commerce channels.

Hershey’s product portfolio centers on chocolate and sugar confectionery, including core brands such as Hershey’s, Reese’s, Hershey’s Kisses and Twizzlers, alongside non-chocolate snacks and confectionery brands.