Assetmark Inc. Sells 9,955 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Assetmark Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 60.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,396 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,955 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,330,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of HSY. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new position in Hershey during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Reflection Asset Management bought a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Hershey in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Hershey during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Hershey by 123.0% during the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 165 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.43, for a total transaction of $260,145.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 54,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,485,753.85. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hershey Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of HSY opened at $174.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.11. Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $161.43 and a 1 year high of $239.48. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $180.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $196.79.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 9.12% and a return on equity of 28.98%. Hershey’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.09 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 8.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $215.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $247.00 to $227.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Zacks Research downgraded Hershey from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $204.00 to $191.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 13th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $208.28.

Hershey Profile

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.