PFG Investments LLC Acquires Shares of 1,992 The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

PFG Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $387,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the third quarter worth about $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. First Financial Corp IN bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Hershey during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Highlander Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 125.3% in the 4th quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

HSY stock traded up $1.45 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $193.92. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,132,628 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,972,461. The Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $178.82 and a 12 month high of $276.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a 50 day moving average of $191.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $190.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.34.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.07. Hershey had a return on equity of 51.79% and a net margin of 16.67%. The business had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.72 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.02 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.55%.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other 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 value 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $369,681.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $296,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 40,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,961,121.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,453 shares of company stock worth $665,534 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on HSY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. BNP Paribas cut shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $191.00 to $183.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $212.78.

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.