HBK Sorce Advisory LLC Sells 529 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

HBK Sorce Advisory LLC reduced its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 16.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,787 shares of the company’s stock after selling 529 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $512,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 730,292 shares of the company’s stock valued at $136,142,000 after buying an additional 64,238 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 21,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,062,000 after acquiring an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Hershey by 32.9% in the 4th quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 35,441 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,608,000 after acquiring an additional 8,767 shares in the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 62.4% during the 4th quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 2,582 shares of the company’s stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 992 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Hershey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $349,448,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HSY. Bank of America cut their target price on Hershey from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $237.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $179.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Three 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, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $203.21.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total value of $286,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 34,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,531,729.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total value of $286,245.00. Following the sale, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the business’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 transaction of $107,153.46. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $644,912.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 3,538 shares of company stock worth $667,793. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hershey Price Performance

NYSE HSY opened at $200.83 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a market cap of $40.63 billion, a PE ratio of 19.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 0.37. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $178.82 and a 52 week high of $213.85. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $195.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $193.69.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.17). Hershey had a net margin of 16.76% and a return on equity of 45.36%. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.01 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.31%.

About Hershey

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.