Summit Global Investments Sells 77,546 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Summit Global Investments reduced its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 91.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,020 shares of the company’s stock after selling 77,546 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in Hershey were worth $1,290,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in HSY. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 15,226 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,839,000 after buying an additional 2,775 shares in the last quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 25.6% in the 4th quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 1,035 shares of the company’s stock worth $193,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter worth about $80,000. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 21.8% in the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 2,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $506,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 67.6% in the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 63,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,833,000 after acquiring an additional 25,608 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HSY has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Argus lowered shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $237.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $179.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, June 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $203.47.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total value of $107,153.46. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $644,912.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total transaction of $107,153.46. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $644,912.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.93, for a total transaction of $274,395.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 35,728 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,535,723.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,038 shares of company stock valued at $974,603 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:HSY traded down $0.65 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $197.26. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 368,542 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,823,470. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $190.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $193.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $178.82 and a 52 week high of $219.92. The company has a market capitalization of $39.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.61, a P/E/G ratio of 4.96 and a beta of 0.36.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.01 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.59 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 54.31%.

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.