Perigon Wealth Management LLC Sells 112 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Perigon Wealth Management LLC reduced its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 7.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,343 shares of the company’s stock after selling 112 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $250,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Blair William & Co. IL increased its position in Hershey by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 30,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,665,000 after buying an additional 916 shares during the period. Dakota Wealth Management bought a new position in Hershey in the 1st quarter worth approximately $238,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Hershey by 28.8% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 1.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,057,990 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,045,383,000 after purchasing an additional 216,715 shares during the period. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 10.8% during the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 32,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,972,000 after purchasing an additional 3,129 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Charles R. Raup sold 2,065 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.85, for a total transaction of $396,170.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 14,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,833,624.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total transaction of $89,938.62. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $369,681.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Charles R. Raup sold 2,065 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.85, for a total value of $396,170.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,833,624.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,518 shares of company stock valued at $1,066,414 over the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hershey Price Performance

Hershey stock opened at $182.45 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market cap of $37.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.34. The business’s fifty day moving average is $192.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $191.11. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $178.82 and a 52 week high of $276.88.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.07. Hershey had a return on equity of 51.79% and a net margin of 16.67%. The company had revenue of $2.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.02 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This is a positive change from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 60.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. BNP Paribas cut Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Hershey from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $223.33.

Hershey Company Profile

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.