Vanguard Group Inc. Cuts Stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its stake in Hershey Company by 2.8%, owning approximately 9.20% of the company with a valuation of over $3.18 billion after selling 532,231 shares.
• Various institutional investors are actively trading Hershey shares, with firms like Wealthspire Advisors LLC increasing their stakes by 107.3% in the first quarter.
• Hershey's most recent earnings report showed a strong performance with revenue of $2.61 billion, surpassing expectations, and it announced a quarterly dividend of $1.37, yielding 3.0% annually.

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 2.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,630,446 shares of the company's stock after selling 532,231 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 9.20% of Hershey worth $3,186,365,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of HSY. Intrust Bank NA raised its position in shares of Hershey by 15.0% during the first quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 4,611 shares of the company's stock valued at $789,000 after buying an additional 602 shares during the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 107.3% during the first quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 12,332 shares of the company's stock worth $2,109,000 after buying an additional 6,383 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Hershey during the first quarter worth $401,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 99.4% during the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 963 shares of the company's stock worth $165,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the period. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new position in Hershey during the first quarter worth $172,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Hershey from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Hershey from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Hershey from $135.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $169.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP James Turoff sold 1,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $227,500.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 25,321 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,431,175. This trade represents a 4.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.11, for a total value of $153,025.14. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,994 shares in the company, valued at $470,387.34. This trade represents a 24.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 118,311 shares of company stock worth $20,931,348. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Hershey Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of HSY opened at $184.21 on Friday. Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $140.13 and a 52-week high of $208.03. The company has a market capitalization of $37.34 billion, a PE ratio of 24.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 0.27. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $173.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $167.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.23. Hershey had a return on equity of 37.36% and a net margin of 13.54%. The business had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.27 EPS. The company's revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.78%.

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.

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