ST Germain D J Co. Inc. Reduces Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

ST Germain D J Co. Inc. reduced its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 49.4% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 162 shares of the company’s stock after selling 158 shares during the quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $30,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 42,161 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,860,000 after buying an additional 472 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 107,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,784,000 after purchasing an additional 6,289 shares during the last quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Hershey by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 89,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,651,000 after purchasing an additional 1,851 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its stake in Hershey by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 105,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,743,000 after purchasing an additional 14,424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 18,495.8% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 295,673 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,125,000 after buying an additional 294,083 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY traded up $3.36 on Tuesday, reaching $199.38. 1,388,729 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,862,227. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $178.82 and a fifty-two week high of $230.69. The business’s 50-day moving average is $189.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $192.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.80, a PEG ratio of 4.96 and a beta of 0.36.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.17). Hershey had a return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 16.76%. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.01 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.59 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on HSY. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Hershey from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $179.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Edward Jones restated a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, April 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $204.50.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total value of $286,245.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,531,729.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 4,500 shares of company stock worth $867,450. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.