Marshall Financial Group LLC Increases Stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Marshall Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 8.0% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,833 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 356 shares during the period. Marshall Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $889,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Hershey during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Hershey during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Hershey during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Hershey in a report on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $185.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. 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 report on Tuesday, June 18th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $237.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $203.47.

Hershey Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE:HSY traded down $1.79 on Friday, reaching $193.49. 2,330,430 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,839,756. The company has a market capitalization of $39.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.18, a PEG ratio of 4.96 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $178.82 and a 12 month high of $221.27. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $190.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $193.25.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 54.31%.

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.