Heartland Bank & Trust Co Sells 69 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Heartland Bank & Trust Co decreased its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,877 shares of the company’s stock after selling 69 shares during the period. Heartland Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Hershey were worth $360,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 55.0% during the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 13.3% during the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 486 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY grew its holdings in Hershey by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY now owns 7,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,411,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its holdings in Hershey by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 1,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $308,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Hershey by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $484,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Hershey from $179.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Hershey from $188.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Hershey from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $184.00 to $163.00 in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Argus downgraded Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $192.80.

Hershey Price Performance

Hershey stock opened at $181.98 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a market capitalization of $36.80 billion, a PE ratio of 18.04, a P/E/G ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 0.37. The Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $178.82 and a 12 month high of $211.92. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $193.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $192.88.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 16.76% and a return on equity of 45.36%. Hershey’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.01 earnings per share. Analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. Hershey’s payout ratio is 54.31%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total value of $107,153.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $644,912.46. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.