EP Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 7,393 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 71.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,926 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,393 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $546,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wealth Alliance grew its holdings in Hershey by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 1,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $212,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. AJOVista LLC bought a new position in Hershey during the fourth quarter worth about $153,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. grew its holdings in Hershey by 1,263.3% during the fourth quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 15,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,816,000 after purchasing an additional 13,997 shares during the period. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC bought a new position in Hershey during the fourth quarter worth about $2,332,000. Finally, Reliant Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Hershey during the fourth quarter worth about $4,173,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of HSY opened at $182.72 on Wednesday. The Hershey Company has a one year low of $178.82 and a one year high of $262.30. The company has a market cap of $36.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.11, a P/E/G ratio of 4.18 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $194.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $192.45.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.33. Hershey had a net margin of 18.13% and a return on equity of 50.15%. The business had revenue of $3.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.96 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 54.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.54, for a total transaction of $306,810.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 37,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,614,615.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,500 shares of company stock valued at $882,405. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on HSY shares. Barclays reduced their price target on Hershey from $210.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Argus cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $213.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $210.22.

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.