Harbour Investments Inc. Purchases 4,158 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Harbour Investments Inc. grew its position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 78.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,440 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,158 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,718,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased 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 valued at $3,469,855,000 after acquiring an additional 191,671 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Hershey by 1.8% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Hershey by 1.9% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in Hershey by 6.7% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Hershey by 3.7% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $196.87 on Friday. 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 $154.37 and a 12 month high of $239.48. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $197.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $198.48. The stock has a market cap of $39.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.66, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.07.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.452 per share. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 108.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.10, for a total transaction of $291,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 57,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,198,599.50. The trade was a 2.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $249.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Hershey in a research note on Monday, April 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $212.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $230.00 to $208.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $218.06.

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.