Stegent Equity Advisors Inc. Trims Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Stegent Equity Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,096 shares of the company’s stock after selling 214 shares during the quarter. Stegent Equity Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $764,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new stake in Hershey during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. First Financial Corp IN bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Highlander Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Hershey by 125.3% in the fourth quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total transaction of $89,938.62. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $369,681.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total value of $89,938.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $369,681.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 40,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,961,121.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 3,453 shares of company stock valued at $665,534. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY traded up $1.39 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $193.86. 2,702,428 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,963,698. The company has a market cap of $39.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $191.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $190.64. 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.72 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 51.79% and a net margin of 16.67%. Hershey’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.02 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict 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 paid a $1.37 dividend. This is an increase from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Hershey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Edward Jones reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, April 19th. BNP Paribas cut Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $191.00 to $183.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $212.78.

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.