Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC reduced its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 11.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,227 shares of the company’s stock after selling 569 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $788,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Wealth Alliance raised its stake in Hershey by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 1,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $212,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Reliant Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,173,000. Rheos Capital Works Inc. grew its stake in Hershey by 21.4% in the 3rd quarter. Rheos Capital Works Inc. now owns 152,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,592,000 after buying an additional 27,000 shares in the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. raised its holdings in Hershey by 94.7% during the 4th quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 17,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,237,000 after acquiring an additional 8,500 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 91.4% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 91,779 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,111,000 after acquiring an additional 43,836 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Hershey stock opened at $185.02 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $192.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $190.87. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $178.82 and a twelve month high of $276.88. The company has a market capitalization of $37.73 billion, a PE ratio of 20.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

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

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a $1.37 dividend. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.96%. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 60.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on HSY shares. Morgan Stanley lowered Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $191.00 to $183.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Edward Jones reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $213.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, March 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $223.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $296,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 40,228 shares in the company, valued at $7,961,121.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $296,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 40,228 shares in the company, valued at $7,961,121.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total value of $89,938.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $369,681.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,453 shares of company stock valued at $670,244 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

About Hershey

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.