Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. Sells 181 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. lowered its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 9,548 shares of the company’s stock after selling 181 shares during the quarter. Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,755,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 14.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,341,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,372,965,000 after purchasing an additional 2,158,912 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 6.5% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,487,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,327,000 after buying an additional 90,329 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 787,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,743,000 after buying an additional 25,780 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 23.2% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 783,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,962,000 after acquiring an additional 147,215 shares during the period. Finally, Vontobel Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Hershey by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. now owns 781,967 shares of the company’s stock worth $151,715,000 after acquiring an additional 112,304 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $195.52 on Friday. The Hershey Company has a one year low of $178.82 and a one year high of $212.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.38, a PEG ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 0.37. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $196.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $193.95.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.01 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.80%. Hershey’s payout ratio is 54.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.93, for a total transaction of $274,395.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 35,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,535,723.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total transaction of $107,153.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at $644,912.46. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.93, for a total value of $274,395.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 35,728 shares in the company, valued at $6,535,723.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,538 shares of company stock valued at $667,793 over the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $237.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Bank of America cut their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 21st. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $179.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Citigroup lowered Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $195.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $203.21.

Hershey 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.