National Bank of Canada FI Sells 79,433 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

National Bank of Canada FI lowered its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 45.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 94,432 shares of the company's stock after selling 79,433 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI's holdings in Hershey were worth $18,133,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the third quarter worth $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. First Financial Corp IN bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Highlander Capital Management LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on HSY. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $213.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, March 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Hershey from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $213.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 40,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,961,121.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY traded up $1.80 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $199.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,018,462 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,989,899. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.97. The Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $178.82 and a 52-week high of $275.89. The company's fifty day moving average price is $192.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $190.85. The company has a market capitalization of $40.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.33.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.33. Hershey had a return on equity of 50.15% and a net margin of 18.13%. The business had revenue of $3.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.96 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.31%.

Hershey 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.