Valley Forge Investment Consultants Inc. ADV Sells 55 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Valley Forge Investment Consultants Inc. ADV lessened its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 1.4% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,850 shares of the company’s stock after selling 55 shares during the quarter. Valley Forge Investment Consultants Inc. ADV’s holdings in Hershey were worth $708,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Hershey by 14.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,341,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,372,965,000 after buying an additional 2,158,912 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at about $349,448,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 6.5% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,487,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $289,327,000 after acquiring an additional 90,329 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Hershey by 23.2% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 783,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,962,000 after acquiring an additional 147,215 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 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 worth $151,715,000 after purchasing an additional 112,304 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of HSY stock opened at $200.83 on Monday. 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 $40.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.90, a PEG ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 0.37. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $178.82 and a 1 year high of $213.85. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $195.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $193.74.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 54.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Argus lowered shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $179.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, June 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $203.21.

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.