Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. Decreases Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. decreased its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 6.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,654 shares of the company’s stock after selling 113 shares during the period. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $302,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the first quarter worth about $29,000. First Financial Corp IN purchased a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Highlander Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Hershey by 125.3% in 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. purchased a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.93, for a total value of $274,395.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 35,728 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,535,723.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 4,500 shares of company stock worth $859,950 in the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hershey Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $183.83 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $194.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $192.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.22, a PEG ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.37. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $178.82 and a twelve month high of $251.73.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $3.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 50.15% and a net margin of 18.13%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.96 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th were given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $213.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, March 15th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $179.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, June 21st. BNP Paribas downgraded Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Argus reduced their price target on Hershey from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $209.67.

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.