First National Trust Co Lowers Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

First National Trust Co trimmed its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 7.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,259 shares of the company’s stock after selling 262 shares during the quarter. First National Trust Co’s holdings in Hershey were worth $608,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Wealth Alliance grew its position in shares of Hershey by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 1,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $212,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. AJOVista LLC purchased a new stake in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $153,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1,263.3% in the fourth 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 position in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter worth $4,173,000. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated grew its stake in Hershey by 78,757.1% during 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. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on HSY shares. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $191.00 to $183.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. Edward Jones reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $213.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, March 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $212.78.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $296,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 40,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,961,121.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Up 1.0 %

HSY stock traded up $2.04 during trading on Friday, hitting $197.92. The company had a trading volume of 3,396,043 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,711,441. The Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $178.82 and a 52-week high of $275.89. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $191.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $190.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.62, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.33. Hershey had a net margin of 16.67% and a return on equity of 51.79%. The firm had revenue of $3.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.96 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

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

About Hershey

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.