Assetmark Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Assetmark Inc. reduced its position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 60.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,396 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,955 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,330,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Hershey in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Hershey during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Hershey by 123.0% in the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.43, for a total value of $260,145.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 54,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,485,753.85. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Hershey from $212.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Evercore set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $240.00 target price on Hershey in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $208.28.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $174.43 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $35.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.11. Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $161.43 and a 12 month high of $239.48. The business’s 50 day moving average is $180.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $196.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.31. Hershey had a return on equity of 28.98% and a net margin of 9.12%.The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.09 earnings per share. Hershey’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 8.42 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $1.452 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 108.19%.

Hershey Profile

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is a leading North American chocolatier and snack manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The company develops, produces and markets a wide range of confectionery and snack products for retail, foodservice and international customers. Hershey’s business spans manufacturing, branded product marketing, packaging and distribution across grocery, convenience, mass merchant and e-commerce channels.

Hershey’s product portfolio centers on chocolate and sugar confectionery, including core brands such as Hershey’s, Reese’s, Hershey’s Kisses and Twizzlers, alongside non-chocolate snacks and confectionery brands.