US Bancorp DE Trims Position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY)

US Bancorp DE reduced its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 1.4% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 397,782 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,817 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Hershey were worth $68,033,000 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. Montag & Caldwell LLC purchased a new stake in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. acquired a new stake in Hershey during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Hershey by 129.5% during the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, SVP James Turoff sold 1,300 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $227,500.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 25,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,431,175. The trade was a 4.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.11, for a total transaction of $153,025.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $470,387.34. This trade represents a 24.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 118,311 shares of company stock worth $20,931,348. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group decreased their price target on Hershey from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $173.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Hershey from $173.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $168.37.

Hershey Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $188.70 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $38.23 billion, a PE ratio of 25.06, a P/E/G ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $208.03. The company has a 50-day moving average of $170.58 and a 200 day moving average of $166.11.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.23. Hershey had a return on equity of 37.36% and a net margin of 13.54%. The business had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.27 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 72.78%.

About Hershey

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.