Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. Lowers Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 89.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,919 shares of the company’s stock after selling 135,842 shares during the period. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $2,968,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. PFS Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. PFS Investments Inc. now owns 1,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Cassia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 3.2% in the third quarter. Cassia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 1.4% in the third quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 3,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $792,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA increased its stake in Hershey by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 754 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC increased its stake in Hershey by 0.4% during the third quarter. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC now owns 14,261 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,853,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on HSY shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Morgan Stanley cut Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $191.00 to $183.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $223.81.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, insider Charles R. Raup sold 2,065 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.85, for a total transaction of $396,170.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,770 shares in the company, valued at $2,833,624.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Hershey news, insider Charles R. Raup sold 2,065 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.85, for a total transaction of $396,170.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,770 shares in the company, valued at $2,833,624.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.97, for a total transaction of $283,455.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 29,816 shares in the company, valued at $5,634,329.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,518 shares of company stock worth $1,066,414 over the last ninety days. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY traded up $1.33 on Tuesday, reaching $183.90. The company had a trading volume of 1,036,371 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,986,625. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $178.82 and a 1 year high of $276.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.51 billion, a PE ratio of 20.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $193.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $191.29.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.07. Hershey had a net margin of 16.67% and a return on equity of 51.79%. The business had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.02 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. This is a positive change from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 60.55%.

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.