Sentry Investment Management LLC Sells 84 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Sentry Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 9.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 786 shares of the company’s stock after selling 84 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $147,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. PFS Investments Inc. raised its position in Hershey by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. PFS Investments Inc. now owns 1,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Cassia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cassia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 3,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $792,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA boosted its stake 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 valued at $141,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on HSY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $213.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Hershey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Hershey from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $223.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, insider Charles R. Raup sold 2,065 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.85, for a total transaction of $396,170.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,833,624.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.97, for a total value of $283,455.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 29,816 shares in the company, valued at $5,634,329.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Charles R. Raup sold 2,065 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.85, for a total value of $396,170.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 14,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,833,624.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,518 shares of company stock valued at $1,066,414. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE:HSY opened at $182.45 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $178.82 and a 12-month high of $276.88. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $192.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $191.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.34.

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

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 60.55%.

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.