First Hawaiian Bank Acquires 251 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

First Hawaiian Bank lifted its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 7.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,851 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 251 shares during the quarter. First Hawaiian Bank’s holdings in Hershey were worth $708,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 14.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,341,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,372,965,000 after buying an additional 2,158,912 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at $349,448,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Hershey by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,487,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,327,000 after buying an additional 90,329 shares during the period. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Hershey by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. now owns 781,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $151,715,000 after buying an additional 112,304 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Hershey by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 777,761 shares of the company’s stock valued at $145,006,000 after buying an additional 19,018 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.54, for a total transaction of $306,810.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 37,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,614,615.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 4,500 shares of company stock valued at $867,450 in the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hershey Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:HSY traded down $3.06 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $196.02. The stock had a trading volume of 1,866,270 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,865,409. The firm has a market cap of $39.64 billion, a PE ratio of 19.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.96 and a beta of 0.36. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $189.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $192.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $178.82 and a twelve month high of $230.69.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter last year, the business posted $2.01 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 9.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on HSY shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Hershey from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $179.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Argus lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $204.50.

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.