Leonteq Securities AG Takes Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 2,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $508,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Hershey by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $466,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC raised its position in shares of Hershey by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $559,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Hershey by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 1,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. BSW Wealth Partners raised its position in shares of Hershey by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 1,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $206,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Hershey by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 1,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $210,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.10, for a total value of $291,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 57,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,198,599.50. The trade was a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total transaction of $791,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 34,568 shares in the company, valued at $7,814,787.76. The trade was a 9.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,500 shares of company stock worth $1,859,600. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $211.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $212.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $215.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $217.78.

Hershey Price Performance

HSY stock opened at $194.64 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $199.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $197.49. Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $152.21 and a 12-month high of $239.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.25, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.31. Hershey had a net margin of 9.12% and a return on equity of 28.98%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.09 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $1.452 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 108.19%.

Hershey Company Profile

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is a leading North American chocolatier and snack manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The company develops, produces and markets a wide range of confectionery and snack products for retail, foodservice and international customers. Hershey’s business spans manufacturing, branded product marketing, packaging and distribution across grocery, convenience, mass merchant and e-commerce channels.

Hershey’s product portfolio centers on chocolate and sugar confectionery, including core brands such as Hershey’s, Reese’s, Hershey’s Kisses and Twizzlers, alongside non-chocolate snacks and confectionery brands.