Global Trust Asset Management LLC Sells 150 Shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY)

Global Trust Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 37.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 250 shares of the company’s stock after selling 150 shares during the period. Global Trust Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $43,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp grew its position in shares of Hershey by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $762,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,768 shares of the company’s stock worth $473,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A grew its holdings in Hershey by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A now owns 3,240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its position in shares of Hershey by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 5,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $939,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of Hershey by 42.5% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 238 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CEO Michele Buck sold 31,210 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.80, for a total value of $5,018,568.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 193,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,134,739.20. This represents a 13.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.11, for a total value of $153,025.14. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $470,387.34. This represents a 24.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $183.00 to $177.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Hershey from $147.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Hershey from $178.00 to $175.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $158.84.

Hershey Price Performance

NYSE:HSY opened at $168.90 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.83, a PEG ratio of 6.22 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $164.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $165.60. Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $140.13 and a 1 year high of $208.03.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.81 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 38.70% and a net margin of 15.32%. Hershey’s revenue was down 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.07 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.57%.

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.