Bfsg LLC Acquires Shares of 550 The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Bfsg LLC acquired a new stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $103,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Hershey by 143.7% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,465,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $496,039,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453,819 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 18,495.8% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 295,673 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,125,000 after acquiring an additional 294,083 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,911,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,983,427,000 after acquiring an additional 222,960 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the 3rd quarter worth $33,672,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 270.8% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 197,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,478,000 after acquiring an additional 144,103 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Down 0.9 %

HSY stock traded down $1.71 during trading on Thursday, hitting $186.43. 213,301 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,941,281. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $191.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $190.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.79, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.34. The Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $178.82 and a 52-week high of $276.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.07. Hershey had a return on equity of 51.79% and a net margin of 16.67%. The company had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.02 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.94%. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 60.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Morgan Stanley downgraded Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $191.00 to $183.00 in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Edward Jones reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $223.33.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $296,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 40,228 shares in the company, valued at $7,961,121.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total transaction of $89,938.62. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $369,681.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $296,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 40,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,961,121.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,453 shares of company stock worth $665,534 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.