Chapin Davis Inc. Invests $240,000 in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Chapin Davis Inc. acquired a new position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $240,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Hershey in the second quarter worth $29,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Hershey in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on HSY shares. Argus lowered shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Hershey in a research report on Monday, August 12th. They set a “sell” rating and a $185.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $179.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on Hershey from $237.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $203.47.

Hershey Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE HSY traded down $1.79 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $193.49. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,330,430 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,839,756. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market cap of $39.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.96 and a beta of 0.36. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $190.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $193.25. The Hershey Company has a one year low of $178.82 and a one year high of $221.27.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.17). The business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 16.76%. Hershey’s revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.01 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.31%.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.54, for a total transaction of $306,810.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 37,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,614,615.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.54, for a total transaction of $306,810.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 37,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,614,615.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $644,912.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,038 shares of company stock worth $974,603. 0.34% 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.