Field & Main Bank Raises Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Field & Main Bank lifted its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,263 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the quarter. Field & Main Bank’s holdings in Hershey were worth $795,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 5.0% during the third quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $914,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 3.6% during the third quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 9,187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,838,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 21.4% in the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 14,903 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,855,000 after purchasing an additional 2,626 shares during the last quarter. Busey Trust CO increased its stake in Hershey by 39.7% in the 3rd quarter. Busey Trust CO now owns 4,733 shares of the company’s stock worth $947,000 after buying an additional 1,345 shares during the period. Finally, Suncoast Equity Management lifted its holdings in Hershey by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Suncoast Equity Management now owns 11,578 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,317,000 after buying an additional 1,310 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY traded up $6.36 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $192.52. The company had a trading volume of 2,960,363 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,958,287. The stock has a market cap of $39.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 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 Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $178.82 and a 1 year high of $276.88. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $191.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $190.64.

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

Hershey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 60.55%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley cut Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $191.00 to $183.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $213.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $212.78.

Insider Activity

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $296,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 40,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,961,121.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $7,961,121.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were 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 have sold 3,453 shares of company stock valued at $665,534 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Company 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.