Rayburn West Financial Services LLC Makes New Investment in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Rayburn West Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 5,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $938,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Hershey by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,067,235 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,469,855,000 after purchasing an additional 191,671 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Hershey by 1.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,253,041 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,356,681,000 after purchasing an additional 128,982 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Hershey by 1.9% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,614,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $301,947,000 after purchasing an additional 29,731 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Hershey by 6.7% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,605,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $300,333,000 after purchasing an additional 101,305 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Hershey by 3.7% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,473,427 shares of the company’s stock worth $275,605,000 after purchasing an additional 52,936 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Hershey news, insider Rohit Grover sold 3,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total value of $791,245.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 34,568 shares in the company, valued at $7,814,787.76. The trade was a 9.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Jason Reiman sold 2,000 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $9,277,008.52. This trade represents a 4.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 10,000 shares of company stock worth $2,189,090. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $195.86 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $39.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.07. 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 $150.04 and a 12 month high of $239.48. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $204.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $196.91.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 28.98% and a net margin of 9.12%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

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 3.0%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 108.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on HSY. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Stephens increased their target price on Hershey from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Hershey from $247.00 to $227.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded 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. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $218.33.

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.