Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Acquires 9,387 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd grew its stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 41.6% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 31,933 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,387 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in Hershey were worth $6,819,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Reflection Asset Management bought a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 123.0% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.43, for a total value of $260,145.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 54,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,485,753.85. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HSY. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Hershey from $249.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 9th. DA Davidson raised Hershey to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings lowered Hershey from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Hershey from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $212.56.

Hershey Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $171.48 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $34.78 billion, a PE ratio of 31.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $161.43 and a 12-month high of $239.48. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $181.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $197.16.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.31. Hershey had a return on equity of 28.98% and a net margin of 9.12%.The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.09 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 8.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $1.452 dividend. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 108.19%.

Hershey Company Profile

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is a leading North American chocolatier and snack manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The company develops, produces and markets a wide range of confectionery and snack products for retail, foodservice and international customers. Hershey’s business spans manufacturing, branded product marketing, packaging and distribution across grocery, convenience, mass merchant and e-commerce channels.

Hershey’s product portfolio centers on chocolate and sugar confectionery, including core brands such as Hershey’s, Reese’s, Hershey’s Kisses and Twizzlers, alongside non-chocolate snacks and confectionery brands.