First Foundation Advisors Cuts Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

First Foundation Advisors lessened its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 31.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 855 shares of the company’s stock after selling 401 shares during the quarter. First Foundation Advisors’ holdings in Hershey were worth $157,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,341,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,372,965,000 after purchasing an additional 2,158,912 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at about $349,448,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,487,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,327,000 after purchasing an additional 90,329 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. now owns 781,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $151,715,000 after purchasing an additional 112,304 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 748,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $139,503,000 after purchasing an additional 89,586 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HSY has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America cut their price target 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. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $179.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, June 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $237.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Argus downgraded shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $203.21.

Hershey Price Performance

HSY opened at $202.83 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $194.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $193.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.86. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $178.82 and a 1 year high of $213.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.03 billion, a PE ratio of 20.10, a P/E/G ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 0.37.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its 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 return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 16.76%. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.01 earnings per share. Hershey’s revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.5 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.