Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Hershey in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its holdings in Hershey by 121.3% in the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 135 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new stake in Hershey in the second quarter worth about $33,000. American National Bank boosted its holdings in Hershey by 359.3% in the third quarter. American National Bank now owns 248 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glassman Wealth Services boosted its holdings in Hershey by 93.7% in the second quarter. Glassman Wealth Services now owns 275 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.17% of the company’s stock.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Hershey news, CEO Michele Buck sold 14,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.16, for a total transaction of $3,422,280.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 120,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,952,488.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, SVP Jason Reiman sold 150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.83, for a total transaction of $35,224.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,986,333.11. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 14,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.16, for a total value of $3,422,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 120,555 shares in the company, valued at $28,952,488.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 32,573 shares of company stock valued at $7,625,396. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of research firms recently commented on HSY. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Hershey from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 3rd. UBS Group raised Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $244.00 to $269.00 in a report on Thursday, December 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Hershey from $231.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 3rd. Credit Suisse Group boosted their price target on Hershey from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Hershey from $236.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $245.23.
Hershey Price Performance
HSY opened at $237.47 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $230.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $228.56. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $193.09 and a 12-month high of $242.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $48.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.83, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.35.
Hershey (NYSE:HSY – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 15.79% and a return on equity of 57.76%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.69 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.
Hershey Announces Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.036 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 16th. This represents a $4.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 52.01%.
About Hershey
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The Hershey Co engages in the manufacture and marketing of chocolate, sweets, mints and confectionery products. The firm operates through the following geographical segments: North America and International and Other. The North America is responsible for the traditional chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery market position of the company, as well as its grocery and snacks market positions, in the United States and Canada.
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