The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Sold by Argyle Capital Management Inc.

Argyle Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 20.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 13,848 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,457 shares during the period. Argyle Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $2,582,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,911,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,983,427,000 after purchasing an additional 222,960 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 143.7% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,465,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $496,039,000 after acquiring an additional 1,453,819 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Hershey by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,779,549 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,052,000 after purchasing an additional 35,393 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Hershey by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,170,830 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,260,000 after purchasing an additional 8,344 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Hershey by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 997,329 shares of the company’s stock worth $198,085,000 after purchasing an additional 21,229 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on HSY. Edward Jones restated 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 research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $213.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $223.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 40,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,961,121.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The shares were 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $369,681.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,453 shares of company stock worth $665,534 over the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hershey Price Performance

NYSE HSY traded down $0.99 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $186.16. The stock had a trading volume of 1,186,506 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,496,720. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $191.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $190.61. The company has a market cap of $37.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.34. The Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $178.82 and a 52-week high of $276.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

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

Hershey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This is an increase from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 60.55%.

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.