SlateStone Wealth LLC Sells 243 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

SlateStone Wealth LLC trimmed its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 5,788 shares of the company’s stock after selling 243 shares during the quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,079,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Marshall Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Hershey by 1.4% in the third quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 3,960 shares of the company’s stock valued at $792,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA increased its holdings in Hershey by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC increased its holdings in Hershey by 0.4% in the third quarter. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC now owns 14,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,853,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its holdings in Hershey by 1.1% in 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 during the period. Finally, Accurate Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Hershey by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. 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. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $191.00 to $183.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $223.33.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY stock traded up $0.89 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $187.22. 753,887 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,960,638. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $192.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $190.81. 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 Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $178.82 and a 52-week high of $276.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.34.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.07. Hershey had a net margin of 16.67% and a return on equity of 51.79%. The company had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.02 EPS. Hershey’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. This is a positive change from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 60.55%.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $296,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 40,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,961,121.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $296,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 40,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,961,121.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total transaction of $89,938.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $369,681.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.