The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Sold by Vontobel Holding Ltd.

Vontobel Holding Ltd. trimmed its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 25.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,569 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,857 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $3,314,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 248.0% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 61.7% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the third quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, City State Bank grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 210.0% during the fourth quarter. City State Bank now owns 310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup upgraded Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $159.00 to $154.00 in a report on Friday, February 7th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Hershey in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “sell” rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.15.

Hershey Price Performance

NYSE HSY opened at $157.99 on Monday. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $211.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.97 billion, a PE ratio of 14.49, a P/E/G ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $162.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $179.24.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. Research analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 6.77 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 50.28%.

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.