KFG Wealth Management LLC Sells 74 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

KFG Wealth Management LLC cut its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,266 shares of the company’s stock after selling 74 shares during the quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $609,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the third quarter worth $25,000. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the third quarter valued at $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. First Financial Corp IN purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 121.3% during the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of HSY traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $185.02. 1,740,003 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,981,138. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.97. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $178.82 and a 12-month high of $276.88. The company has a market cap of $37.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.34. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $192.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $191.07.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.66 billion during 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.02 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on HSY. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Edward Jones restated a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley lowered Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $191.00 to $183.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Barclays raised their price target on Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $223.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.97, for a total value of $283,455.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 29,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,634,329.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total transaction of $89,938.62. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $369,681.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 29,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,634,329.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,453 shares of company stock worth $670,244 in the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.