Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Sells 3,240 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 24.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,061 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,240 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,957,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,182,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,830,683,000 after purchasing an additional 271,636 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth $349,448,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 2.2% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 997,329 shares of the company’s stock worth $198,085,000 after acquiring an additional 21,229 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Hershey by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. now owns 781,967 shares of the company’s stock worth $151,715,000 after purchasing an additional 112,304 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Hershey by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 777,761 shares of the company’s stock worth $145,006,000 after purchasing an additional 19,018 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.93, for a total transaction of $274,395.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 35,728 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,535,723.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,500 shares of company stock worth $859,950. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HSY has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Hershey from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Edward Jones reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, April 19th. Barclays lowered their price target on Hershey from $210.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, BNP Paribas downgraded Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $209.67.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $183.83 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $194.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $192.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.22, a PEG ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.37. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $178.82 and a 52 week high of $251.73.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.33. The company 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.96 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

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

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.