Forte Capital LLC ADV Sells 665 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Forte Capital LLC ADV cut its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 21.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,409 shares of the company’s stock after selling 665 shares during the quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV’s holdings in Hershey were worth $408,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Hershey in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust raised its position in Hershey by 248.0% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its position in Hershey by 61.7% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Hershey in the third quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, City State Bank raised its position in shares of Hershey by 210.0% during the fourth quarter. City State Bank now owns 310 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on HSY shares. Piper Sandler downgraded Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.15.

Hershey Trading Up 4.2 %

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $173.03 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.96. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 week high of $211.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $160.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $178.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.01 billion, a PE ratio of 15.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.82 and a beta of 0.37.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.