Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC Purchases 1,952 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 55.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,492 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,952 shares during the period. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $930,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Hershey in the third quarter worth $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in Hershey by 248.0% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Hershey by 61.7% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 262 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Hershey during the 3rd quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, City State Bank increased its position in Hershey by 210.0% in the 4th quarter. City State Bank now owns 310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Piper Sandler cut Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays cut their price target on Hershey from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $159.00 to $154.00 in a research report on Friday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $166.35.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of HSY stock opened at $154.98 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $211.92. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $164.38 and a 200-day moving average of $180.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 0.37.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.54%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at $396,936. This trade represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.