Tempus Wealth Planning LLC Has $972,000 Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Tempus Wealth Planning LLC raised its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 1.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,000 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $972,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in HSY. Wealth Alliance lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 1,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $212,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. AJOVista LLC bought a new stake in Hershey during the fourth quarter worth approximately $153,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. grew its holdings in Hershey by 1,263.3% during the fourth quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 15,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,816,000 after purchasing an additional 13,997 shares during the last quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,332,000. Finally, Reliant Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter worth $4,173,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of HSY stock traded down $0.90 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $183.75. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,014,814 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,569,323. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $194.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $192.16. The company has a market cap of $37.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.21, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.36. The Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $178.82 and a 1-year high of $251.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $3.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 18.13% and a return on equity of 50.15%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.96 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 9.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.98%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.31%.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.54, for a total transaction of $306,810.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 37,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,614,615.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 4,500 shares of company stock valued at $859,950 in the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Argus lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $213.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Edward Jones reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Barclays decreased their target price on Hershey from $210.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Hershey from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $209.67.

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.