The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Sold by Lindbrook Capital LLC

Lindbrook Capital LLC lessened its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 78.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 408 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,460 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $76,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Alliance lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Reliant Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at $4,173,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 94.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 8,500 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 91.4% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 91,779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,111,000 after purchasing an additional 43,836 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at $1,603,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on HSY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $191.00 to $183.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Hershey from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $223.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’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 value of $296,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 40,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,961,121.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal 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 Hershey stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 40,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,961,121.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $369,681.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,453 shares of company stock valued at $665,534 in the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hershey Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:HSY opened at $188.14 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $191.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $190.73. The company has a market capitalization of $38.37 billion, a PE ratio of 20.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 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. The Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $178.82 and a 52-week high of $276.88.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.07. The company 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 last year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.55%.

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.