First Horizon Advisors Inc. Cuts Stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. reduced its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 55.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 349 shares of the company’s stock after selling 430 shares during the quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $65,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA raised its holdings in Hershey by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 754 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.1% during the third quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 5,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,052,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 5,839 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,089,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Hershey by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $272,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Hershey by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,138 shares of the company’s stock worth $212,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Hershey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, January 29th. Edward Jones reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, April 19th. Morgan Stanley downgraded Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $191.00 to $183.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $213.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.83, for a total transaction of $278,745.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 38,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,196,824.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $198.11 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $40.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.63, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $192.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $190.85. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $178.82 and a 52 week high of $275.89.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.33. Hershey had a return on equity of 50.15% and a net margin of 18.13%. The company had revenue of $3.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.96 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 54.31%.

Hershey 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.