The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Acquired by Stanley Laman Group Ltd.

Stanley Laman Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 8.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,339 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the period. Stanley Laman Group Ltd.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $436,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. First Financial Corp IN purchased a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Highlander Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Hershey by 125.3% during the 4th quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.83, for a total transaction of $278,745.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,728 shares in the company, valued at $7,196,824.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.83, for a total value of $278,745.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 38,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,196,824.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $369,681.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,453 shares of company stock worth $665,534 over the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hershey Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:HSY traded down $0.92 during trading on Friday, hitting $186.23. 1,186,501 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,945,917. The Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $178.82 and a 1-year high of $276.88. The firm has a market cap of $37.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.58, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $191.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $190.64.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.07. Hershey had a return on equity of 51.79% and a net margin of 16.67%. The business had revenue of $2.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.02 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid 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 yield of 2.94%. This is a positive change from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 60.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HSY has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Edward Jones restated a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Hershey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $223.33.

Hershey Profile

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.