iA Global Asset Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

iA Global Asset Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 89.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,605 shares of the company’s stock after selling 111,920 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $2,476,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Close Asset Management Ltd lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 339.3% during the 3rd quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd now owns 246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.10, for a total value of $291,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 57,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,198,599.50. This trade represents a 2.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total value of $791,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 34,568 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,814,787.76. This trade represents a 9.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 10,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,189,090 in the last three months. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HSY. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Mizuho raised their price objective on Hershey from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Hershey in a report on Monday, April 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Hershey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $218.33.

Hershey Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of HSY stock opened at $191.48 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $201.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $197.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.66, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.07. Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $150.04 and a fifty-two week high of $239.48.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 28.98% and a net margin of 9.12%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. Research analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $1.452 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 108.19%.

Hershey Profile

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is a leading North American chocolatier and snack manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The company develops, produces and markets a wide range of confectionery and snack products for retail, foodservice and international customers. Hershey’s business spans manufacturing, branded product marketing, packaging and distribution across grocery, convenience, mass merchant and e-commerce channels.

Hershey’s product portfolio centers on chocolate and sugar confectionery, including core brands such as Hershey’s, Reese’s, Hershey’s Kisses and Twizzlers, alongside non-chocolate snacks and confectionery brands.