Martin Capital Partners LLC Acquires Shares of 23,510 The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Martin Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 23,510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,573,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA increased its position in shares of Hershey by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 754 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 20.6% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 316 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased its position in shares of Hershey by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,661 shares of the company’s stock worth $683,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its position in Hershey by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 5,839 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,089,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mount Lucas Management LP grew its position in Hershey by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Mount Lucas Management LP now owns 9,619 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,793,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Edward Jones reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $213.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, March 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $210.22.

Hershey Stock Performance

Hershey stock traded down $0.32 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $182.73. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,294,174 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,357,960. The Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $178.82 and a 1-year high of $262.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $194.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $192.45. The company has a market cap of $36.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.11, a PEG ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 0.37.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.33. Hershey had a net margin of 18.13% and a return on equity of 50.15%. The business had revenue of $3.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.96 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th were issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.54, for a total value of $306,810.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 37,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,614,615.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 4,500 shares of company stock valued at $882,405 in the last ninety days. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.