The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Stock Position Raised by Bleakley Financial Group LLC

Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 7.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,966 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $382,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,182,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,830,683,000 after acquiring an additional 271,636 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at about $349,448,000. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. now owns 781,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $151,715,000 after acquiring an additional 112,304 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 777,761 shares of the company’s stock valued at $145,006,000 after acquiring an additional 19,018 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 748,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $139,503,000 after acquiring an additional 89,586 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $179.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, June 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on Hershey from $237.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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. BNP Paribas lowered Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on Hershey from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $205.65.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.93, for a total value of $274,395.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 35,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,535,723.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,500 shares of company stock valued at $859,950. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

Hershey stock opened at $193.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The company has a market capitalization of $39.10 billion, a PE ratio of 19.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.36. The Hershey Company has a one year low of $178.82 and a one year high of $248.93. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $192.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $192.45.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.33. Hershey had a return on equity of 50.15% and a net margin of 18.13%. The firm had revenue of $3.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.96 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th were given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. Hershey’s payout ratio is 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.