The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Sold by Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co.

Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. decreased its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,075 shares of the company’s stock after selling 150 shares during the period. Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $973,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 14.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,341,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,372,965,000 after buying an additional 2,158,912 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Hershey by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,487,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,327,000 after buying an additional 90,329 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Hershey by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 787,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,743,000 after buying an additional 25,780 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Hershey by 23.2% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 783,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,962,000 after buying an additional 147,215 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 297.9% in the 2nd quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 717,831 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,959,000 after acquiring an additional 537,419 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total transaction of $107,153.46. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $644,912.46. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on HSY shares. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Hershey from $179.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Hershey in a research report on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $185.00 target price for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $230.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $191.55.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $182.15. 65,523 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,671,734. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.06, a P/E/G ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 0.37. The Hershey Company has a one year low of $178.82 and a one year high of $211.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The company’s 50 day moving average is $193.04 and its 200 day moving average is $192.88.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.17). Hershey had a return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 16.76%. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.01 EPS. Hershey’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 54.31%.

Hershey Company Profile

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.