RiverFront Investment Group LLC Raises Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

RiverFront Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 79.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,486 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,198 shares during the period. RiverFront Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,726,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC raised its position in Hershey by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $559,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. raised its position in Hershey by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 1,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. BSW Wealth Partners raised its position in Hershey by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 1,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $206,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC raised its position in Hershey by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 1,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $210,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bellevue Asset Management LLC raised its position in Hershey by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bellevue Asset Management LLC now owns 514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, insider Rohit Grover sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total transaction of $791,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 34,568 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,814,787.76. This represents a 9.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jason Reiman sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total value of $452,140.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 41,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,277,008.52. This represents a 4.65% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,000 shares of company stock worth $2,189,090. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hershey Stock Down 0.1%

HSY stock opened at $186.84 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.24. The company has a market capitalization of $37.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.79, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.07. Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $150.04 and a fifty-two week high of $239.48. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $202.63 and a 200-day moving average of $197.02.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 28.98% and a net margin of 9.12%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.09 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.452 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 108.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on HSY. BTIG Research began coverage on Hershey in a research report on Monday, April 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Mizuho increased their price target on Hershey from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Hershey from $247.00 to $227.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $218.33.

Hershey 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.