Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. Decreases Stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. cut its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,776 shares of the company’s stock after selling 521 shares during the quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $3,873,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in Hershey during the third quarter worth $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Hershey during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new position in Hershey during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Highlander Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Hershey by 125.3% during the fourth quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Hershey during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hershey Price Performance

HSY stock opened at $186.16 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $191.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $190.62. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $178.82 and a 12-month high of $276.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $37.97 billion, a PE ratio of 20.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.34.

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

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This is an increase from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Hershey’s payout ratio is 60.55%.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $369,681.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $369,681.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.83, for a total value of $278,745.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,196,824.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,453 shares of company stock valued at $665,534 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on HSY shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $213.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, March 15th. Citigroup cut their price target on Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised Hershey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $223.33.

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.