Summit Financial LLC Sells 201 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Summit Financial LLC reduced its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 13.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,327 shares of the company’s stock after selling 201 shares during the quarter. Summit Financial LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $247,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Alliance lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 1,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $212,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 1,263.3% during the fourth quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 15,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,816,000 after buying an additional 13,997 shares during the period. Reliant Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter worth about $4,173,000. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated increased its holdings in Hershey by 78,757.1% in the fourth quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 5,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 5,513 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 94.7% during the 4th quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 17,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,237,000 after acquiring an additional 8,500 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.83, for a total transaction of $278,745.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 38,728 shares in the company, valued at $7,196,824.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $197.92 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $191.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $190.72. The Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $178.82 and a 1-year high of $275.89. The firm has a market cap of $40.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.33.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.72 by $0.35. Hershey had a return on equity of 51.79% and a net margin of 16.67%. The company had revenue of $3.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.96 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their price target on Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Hershey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, January 29th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley downgraded Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $191.00 to $183.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $212.78.

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.