Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases 309 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 28.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,405 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 309 shares during the quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $273,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of HSY. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new stake in Hershey during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the first quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, First Financial Corp IN bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on HSY shares. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, BNP Paribas downgraded Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $223.33.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of Hershey stock traded down $0.99 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $186.16. 1,186,506 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,496,720. The business has a fifty day moving average of $191.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $190.64. The company has a market capitalization of $37.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $178.82 and a 1 year high of $276.88.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.72 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 16.67% and a return on equity of 51.79%. Hershey’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.02 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. This is a positive change from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $296,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 40,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,961,121.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $296,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 40,228 shares in the company, valued at $7,961,121.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total transaction of $89,938.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at $369,681.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,453 shares of company stock worth $665,534. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

About Hershey

The Hershey Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of confectionery products and pantry items in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: North America Confectionery, North America Salty Snacks, and International. It offers chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery products; gum and mint refreshment products, including mints, chewing gums, and bubble gums; protein bars; pantry items, such as baking ingredients, toppings, beverages, and sundae syrups; and snack items comprising spreads, bars, snack bites, mixes, popcorn, and pretzels.