Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. Trims Position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY)

Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 0.6% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 28,458 shares of the company’s stock after selling 167 shares during the quarter. Hershey comprises 3.2% of Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $4,867,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $762,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,768 shares of the company’s stock worth $473,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $549,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 5,546 shares of the company’s stock worth $939,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 42.5% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 238 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $168.90 on Wednesday. Hershey Company has a one year low of $140.13 and a one year high of $208.03. The company has a market cap of $34.22 billion, a PE ratio of 20.83, a P/E/G ratio of 6.22 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.59. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $164.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $165.60.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 31,210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.80, for a total value of $5,018,568.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 193,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,134,739.20. This trade represents a 13.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on HSY shares. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $147.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $173.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $178.00 to $175.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $158.84.

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.