Valeo Financial Advisors LLC Sells 2,644 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Valeo Financial Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 17.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,368 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,644 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $2,251,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 49 Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Hershey by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,398 shares of the company’s stock worth $436,000 after buying an additional 324 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 46.2% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 11,572 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,106,000 after purchasing an additional 3,659 shares in the last quarter. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC now owns 5,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $926,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 45.3% during the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 10,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,820,000 after purchasing an additional 3,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ethic Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 7,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,309,000 after purchasing an additional 478 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on HSY shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $185.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. TD Cowen raised Hershey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Hershey from $247.00 to $227.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $218.33.

Hershey Price Performance

Hershey stock opened at $189.47 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $38.43 billion, a PE ratio of 35.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.07. Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $150.04 and a 12 month high of $239.48. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $206.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $196.75.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 28.98% and a net margin of 9.12%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.09 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $1.452 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 108.19%.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, SVP Jason Reiman sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total transaction of $452,140.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 41,036 shares in the company, valued at $9,277,008.52. This trade represents a 4.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total value of $791,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 34,568 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,814,787.76. This trade represents a 9.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 10,000 shares of company stock worth $2,189,090 over the last ninety days. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Hershey

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is a leading North American chocolatier and snack manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The company develops, produces and markets a wide range of confectionery and snack products for retail, foodservice and international customers. Hershey’s business spans manufacturing, branded product marketing, packaging and distribution across grocery, convenience, mass merchant and e-commerce channels.

Hershey’s product portfolio centers on chocolate and sugar confectionery, including core brands such as Hershey’s, Reese’s, Hershey’s Kisses and Twizzlers, alongside non-chocolate snacks and confectionery brands.