Isthmus Partners LLC Trims Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Isthmus Partners LLC lowered its position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 18.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 59,301 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,080 shares during the quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $12,328,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Syon Capital LLC raised its holdings in Hershey by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 3,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $550,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Haverford Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 6,796 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,237,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Hershey by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $466,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Venture Visionary Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Hershey by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 8,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,462,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC grew its position in shares of Hershey by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $559,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

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

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $174.44 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $184.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $197.83. Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $160.07 and a twelve month high of $239.48. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $35.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.48, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.11.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

HSY has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson upgraded Hershey to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Barclays lowered their price target on Hershey from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $211.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Hershey in a report on Monday, April 13th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Evercore raised shares of Hershey from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $255.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $217.50.

About Hershey

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.