Absher Wealth Management LLC Reduces Stake in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Absher Wealth Management LLC lowered its position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 29.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,883 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,688 shares during the period. Absher Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,847,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter worth $9,633,000. Prudential PLC grew its position in shares of Hershey by 237.3% during the 4th quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 7,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,454,000 after acquiring an additional 5,620 shares during the period. Friedenthal Financial increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 38,266.7% in the 4th quarter. Friedenthal Financial now owns 5,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 5,740 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter worth $2,744,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Hershey by 833.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 185,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,940,000 after purchasing an additional 165,458 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HSY has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Cowen upgraded Hershey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $240.00 price target on Hershey in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Evercore raised Hershey from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $255.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. DA Davidson raised Hershey to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Hershey from $212.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $214.78.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.43, for a total transaction of $260,145.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 54,695 shares of the company’s stock, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE HSY opened at $174.15 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $161.29 and a twelve month high of $239.48. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $183.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $197.62. The firm has a market cap of $35.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.11.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a dividend of $1.452 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 108.19%.

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.