Intellectus Partners LLC Trims Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Intellectus Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 56.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,529 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,333 shares during the quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $460,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at about $272,506,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 240.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,262,671 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,183,000 after acquiring an additional 891,287 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 121.2% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,104,299 shares of the company’s stock valued at $206,559,000 after acquiring an additional 605,048 shares during the last quarter. Candlestick Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 3rd quarter valued at about $64,469,000. Finally, Clark Capital Management Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,464,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of HSY opened at $182.89 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $37.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.09. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $195.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $198.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $160.07 and a 1 year high of $239.48.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during 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%.Hershey’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.09 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 108.19%.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 57,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,198,599.50. The trade was a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Hershey in a research report on Monday, April 13th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Zacks Research downgraded Hershey from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Evercore upgraded Hershey from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $255.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Hershey from $247.00 to $227.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Stephens lifted their price target on Hershey from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $218.06.

Hershey Company 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.