Hershey Company (The) $HSY Shares Bought by Procyon Advisors LLC

Procyon Advisors LLC raised its position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 235.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,706 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,004 shares during the quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,186,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter worth $9,633,000. Prudential PLC lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 237.3% in the 4th quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 7,988 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,454,000 after acquiring an additional 5,620 shares during the period. Friedenthal Financial lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 38,266.7% in the 4th quarter. Friedenthal Financial now owns 5,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,047,000 after acquiring an additional 5,740 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Hershey during the fourth quarter worth about $2,744,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Hershey by 833.3% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 185,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,940,000 after purchasing an additional 165,458 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hershey Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $171.54 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $34.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.11. Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $161.29 and a 52-week high of $239.48. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $183.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $197.48.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 9.12% and a return on equity of 28.98%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.09 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 8.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

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 of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 108.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.43, for a total transaction of $260,145.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 54,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,485,753.85. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HSY has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Hershey in a research report on Monday, April 13th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. DA Davidson raised Hershey to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Barclays cut their price objective on Hershey from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 4th. TD Cowen raised shares of Hershey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Hershey from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $214.06.

About Hershey

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.