Valley Forge Investment Consultants Inc. ADV Sells 55 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Valley Forge Investment Consultants Inc. ADV reduced its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 1.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,850 shares of the company’s stock after selling 55 shares during the quarter. Valley Forge Investment Consultants Inc. ADV’s holdings in Hershey were worth $708,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its position in shares of Hershey by 218.2% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in Hershey in the first quarter worth $29,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Hershey by 55.0% in the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Hershey in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the first quarter valued at about $35,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hershey Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $200.83 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a market cap of $40.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.90, a P/E/G ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 0.37. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $178.82 and a 52 week high of $213.85. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $195.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $193.74.

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). The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 16.76% and a return on equity of 45.36%. Hershey’s revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.01 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 54.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HSY has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $179.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Hershey from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Barclays dropped their price objective on Hershey from $210.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $203.21.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other Hershey 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 value of $286,245.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,531,729.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total transaction of $286,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,531,729.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $644,912.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 3,538 shares of company stock valued at $667,793. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey 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.