Xponance Inc. Reduces Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Xponance Inc. decreased its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 28.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,840 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,607 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.'s holdings in Hershey were worth $4,015,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 320,680 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,951,000 after purchasing an additional 29,246 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its stake in Hershey by 179.4% during the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 6,958 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,353,000 after acquiring an additional 4,468 shares during the period. Prudential PLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 21.8% in the 4th quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 100,084 shares of the company's stock worth $18,660,000 after buying an additional 17,890 shares in the last quarter. Bridgefront Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter worth $972,000. Finally, Oak Harvest Investment Services bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the 1st quarter valued at about $5,383,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Hershey from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 21st. Barclays decreased their price objective on Hershey from $204.00 to $202.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and set a $179.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $198.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total transaction of $286,245.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 34,228 shares in the company, valued at $6,531,729.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,228 shares in the company, valued at $6,531,729.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total value of $107,153.46. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,238 shares of the company's stock, valued at $644,912.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Hershey Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:HSY traded down $0.49 on Thursday, hitting $190.51. 1,779,145 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,734,367. The company has a market capitalization of $38.53 billion, a PE ratio of 18.91, a P/E/G ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.37. The Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $178.82 and a 1-year high of $211.92. The firm's 50-day moving average is $196.43 and its 200 day moving average is $194.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.30 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 16.76%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.01 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 9.49 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio is currently 54.31%.

About Hershey

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.