Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. Sells 604 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc. decreased its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,597 shares of the company’s stock after selling 604 shares during the period. Hershey comprises 4.1% of Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Prentiss Smith & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $5,518,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. acquired a new stake in Hershey in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new stake in Hershey in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. First Financial Corp IN bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Highlander Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 125.3% during the fourth quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on HSY shares. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $223.33.

Hershey Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE HSY traded down $0.97 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $187.17. 1,316,440 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,955,410. The stock has a market cap of $38.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.79, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.34. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $191.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $190.73. The Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $178.82 and a 1-year high of $276.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.72 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 16.67% and a return on equity of 51.79%. The business’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.02 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.55%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total transaction of $89,938.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at $369,681.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.83, for a total transaction of $278,745.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,728 shares in the company, valued at $7,196,824.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the business’s 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 in the company, valued at $369,681.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,453 shares of company stock worth $665,534 over the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by 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.