1,500 Shares in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Acquired by Global View Capital Management LLC

Global View Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $253,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Hershey during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in Hershey by 248.0% during the fourth 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. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in Hershey during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its position in Hershey by 61.7% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 262 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Hershey during the third quarter worth approximately $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on HSY shares. DA Davidson reduced their target price on Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Piper Sandler downgraded Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Bernstein Bank reduced their target price on Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $164.15.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Up 0.6 %

HSY opened at $186.19 on Tuesday. The Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $140.13 and a 12 month high of $211.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.08, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $161.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $176.33.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. Sell-side analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be given 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 dividend yield of 2.94%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

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.