LGT Financial Advisors LLC Lowers Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

LGT Financial Advisors LLC lessened its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 59.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 402 shares of the company’s stock after selling 601 shares during the period. LGT Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $74,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 14.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,341,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,372,965,000 after acquiring an additional 2,158,912 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Hershey during the fourth quarter worth approximately $349,448,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Hershey by 6.5% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,487,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,327,000 after purchasing an additional 90,329 shares during the period. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Hershey by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. now owns 781,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $151,715,000 after purchasing an additional 112,304 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 777,761 shares of the company’s stock valued at $145,006,000 after buying an additional 19,018 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on HSY shares. Citigroup cut shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $195.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $179.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, June 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on Hershey from $237.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays dropped their price target on Hershey from $210.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Hershey from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $202.79.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total transaction of $286,245.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,228 shares in the company, valued at $6,531,729.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total value of $286,245.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 34,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,531,729.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total transaction of $107,153.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $644,912.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,538 shares of company stock valued at $667,793 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE HSY opened at $198.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The company has a market cap of $40.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.63, a P/E/G ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 0.36. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $193.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $193.29. The Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $178.82 and a 1-year high of $213.85.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.17). The business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 16.76%. Hershey’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.01 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.5 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.77%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.