Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. Makes New Investment in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 5,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $961,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Wealth Alliance lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 1,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $212,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. AJOVista LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter worth about $153,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. grew its position 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 buying an additional 13,997 shares during the period. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,332,000. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 179.4% during the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 6,958 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,353,000 after purchasing an additional 4,468 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on HSY shares. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on Hershey from $237.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Argus lowered shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $179.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Edward Jones restated a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Hershey from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $203.47.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $199.46 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $190.27 and its 200 day moving average is $193.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $178.82 and a 52 week high of $224.80. The stock has a market cap of $40.34 billion, a PE ratio of 19.77, a PEG ratio of 4.96 and a beta of 0.36.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.17). Hershey had a return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 16.76%. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.01 earnings per share. Hershey’s revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.75%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total value of $107,153.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $644,912.46. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total value of $107,153.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at $644,912.46. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.93, for a total value of $274,395.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 35,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,535,723.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,038 shares of company stock valued at $974,603 over the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by 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.