Smart Money Group LLC Acquires New Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Smart Money Group LLC purchased a new stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $220,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Alliance increased its stake in Hershey by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 1,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $212,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. raised its holdings in Hershey by 1,263.3% in the 4th quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 15,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,816,000 after buying an additional 13,997 shares during the period. Reliant Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,173,000. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated boosted its stake in Hershey by 78,757.1% during the fourth quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 5,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,029,000 after buying an additional 5,513 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of Hershey by 91.4% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 91,779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,111,000 after acquiring an additional 43,836 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:HSY traded up $2.18 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $195.88. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,341,567 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,974,704. The firm has a market cap of $39.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.33. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $191.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $190.68. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $178.82 and a 1 year high of $276.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 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 return on equity of 51.79% and a net margin of 16.67%. The firm’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.02 EPS. Research analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 EPS 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 issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This is a positive change from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.55%.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Hershey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $191.00 to $183.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $212.78.

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.