Motco Sells 39,004 Shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY)

Key Points

• Motco has drastically reduced its stake in the Hershey Company by 98.3%, selling 39,004 shares and retaining only 664 shares worth approximately $114,000 at the end of the quarter.
• Despite Motco's divestment, several other institutional investors increased their holdings, with HB Wealth Management, Applied Finance Capital Management, and Mediolanum International Funds growing their stakes by 16.9%, 23.2%, and 22.9% respectively during the same period.
• Hershey recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.37 per share, yielding 2.92%, and has a current payout ratio of 67.57%.

Motco reduced its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 98.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 664 shares of the company's stock after selling 39,004 shares during the quarter. Motco's holdings in Hershey were worth $114,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 31.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 12,460,147 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,110,126,000 after buying an additional 2,980,997 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,801,145 shares of the company's stock valued at $642,139,000 after buying an additional 47,394 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 38.6% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,628,047 shares of the company's stock valued at $275,710,000 after buying an additional 453,428 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,578,957 shares of the company's stock valued at $267,396,000 after buying an additional 154,238 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,282,681 shares of the company's stock valued at $217,222,000 after buying an additional 87,498 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on HSY shares. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Hershey from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $178.00 to $175.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $162.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Hershey from $173.00 to $165.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Hershey from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $160.68.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of HSY stock traded down $2.49 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $184.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,533,335 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,865,864. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $208.03. The company has a market capitalization of $37.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.77, a PEG ratio of 7.05 and a beta of 0.30. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $167.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $165.19.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.15. Hershey had a return on equity of 38.70% and a net margin of 15.32%. The business had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.81 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.07 EPS. Hershey's revenue for the quarter was down 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.97%. Hershey's payout ratio is currently 67.57%.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other Hershey news, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,334 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $240,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 38,068 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,852,240. The trade was a 3.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP James Turoff sold 1,300 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $227,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 25,321 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,431,175. The trade was a 4.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 99,021 shares of company stock worth $17,189,088. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

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.