RiverFront Investment Group LLC Has $1.73 Million Stake in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

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

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Hershey by 240.0% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,262,671 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,183,000 after acquiring an additional 891,287 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Hershey by 121.2% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,104,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $206,559,000 after acquiring an additional 605,048 shares in the last quarter. Candlestick Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the third quarter worth about $64,469,000. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the third quarter worth about $44,464,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.0% during 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

Hershey stock opened at $186.84 on Monday. The stock 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 52-week low of $150.04 and a 52-week high of $239.48. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $202.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $197.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.24.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, insider Rohit Grover sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider directly 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.10, for a total value of $291,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 57,695 shares in the company, valued at $11,198,599.50. The trade was a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 10,000 shares of company stock worth $2,189,090. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on Hershey from $212.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 30th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Hershey in a report on Monday, April 13th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Zacks Research cut Hershey from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, February 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.