Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) Shares Acquired by Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc.

Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 2.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,834 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 640 shares during the period. Hershey accounts for approximately 1.7% of Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $4,931,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. increased its stake in Hershey by 11.7% in the first quarter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. now owns 29,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,057,000 after purchasing an additional 3,102 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 5,609 shares of the company’s stock valued at $959,000 after buying an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc grew its position in shares of Hershey by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 4,573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $780,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Hershey by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $815,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lawson Kroeker Investment Management Inc. NE lifted its position in Hershey by 1.6% in the first quarter. Lawson Kroeker Investment Management Inc. NE now owns 55,257 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,451,000 after acquiring an additional 845 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on HSY shares. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $162.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Hershey from $183.00 to $177.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on Hershey from $147.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $158.84.

Hershey Price Performance

Hershey stock opened at $177.18 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.90 billion, a PE ratio of 21.85, a P/E/G ratio of 6.49 and a beta of 0.30. Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 week high of $208.03. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $165.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $164.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.81 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 38.70%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.07 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 67.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.11, for a total value of $153,025.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $470,387.34. The trade was a 24.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 31,210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.80, for a total value of $5,018,568.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 193,624 shares in the company, valued at $31,134,739.20. This represents a 13.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.