Cypress Capital Management LLC WY Has $545,000 Stock Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Cypress Capital Management LLC WY lessened its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 12.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,925 shares of the company’s stock after selling 400 shares during the period. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY’s holdings in Hershey were worth $545,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Kennon Green & Company LLC lifted its position in Hershey by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Kennon Green & Company LLC now owns 15,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,829,000 after buying an additional 1,062 shares in the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated lifted its position in Hershey by 78,757.1% during the 4th quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 5,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,029,000 after buying an additional 5,513 shares in the last quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC acquired a new position in Hershey during the 4th quarter worth about $718,000. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Hershey by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,031 shares of the company’s stock worth $938,000 after buying an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Hershey during the 4th quarter worth about $3,039,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HSY has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $191.00 to $183.00 in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $213.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $212.78.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $296,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 40,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,961,121.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total transaction of $89,938.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $369,681.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $296,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 40,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,961,121.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,453 shares of company stock worth $665,534 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Up 3.0 %

NYSE HSY traded up $5.63 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $191.79. 2,142,562 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,944,855. The company’s 50-day moving average is $191.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $190.61. The Hershey Company has a one year low of $178.82 and a one year high of $276.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $39.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.34.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.07. Hershey had a return on equity of 51.79% and a net margin of 16.67%. The business had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.02 EPS. Hershey’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This is an increase from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.55%.

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.