Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC Trims Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 15.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,066 shares of the company’s stock after selling 188 shares during the period. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $204,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 218.2% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 55.0% in the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total value of $286,245.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 34,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,531,729.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total transaction of $107,153.46. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $644,912.46. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total value of $286,245.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,228 shares in the company, valued at $6,531,729.24. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hershey Trading Up 0.4 %

HSY traded up $0.85 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $191.84. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 794,175 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,714,381. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $178.82 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92. The stock has a market cap of $38.80 billion, a PE ratio of 19.01, a P/E/G ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.37. The business’s 50-day moving average is $196.42 and its 200-day moving average is $193.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.17). Hershey had a net margin of 16.76% and a return on equity of 45.36%. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.01 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 9.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 54.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on HSY. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Hershey from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on Hershey from $237.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Hershey from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $184.00 to $163.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Citigroup lowered Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $195.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $198.63.

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.