1,911 Shares in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) Bought by 1834 Investment Advisors Co.

Key Points

• 1834 Investment Advisors Co. purchased 1,911 shares of Hershey Company, valued at approximately $327,000, during the first quarter.
• Hershey's quarterly earnings report showed $1.21 earnings per share, surpassing analysts' expectations, with revenue of $2.61 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.37 per share, with a reported dividend yield of 2.9%.

1834 Investment Advisors Co. acquired a new position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,911 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $327,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its position in Hershey by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 2,691 shares of the company's stock worth $460,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Ignite Planners LLC raised its position in Hershey by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 1,278 shares of the company's stock worth $214,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. raised its position in Hershey by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 7,248 shares of the company's stock worth $1,229,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Hershey by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 7,189 shares of the company's stock worth $1,179,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Hershey by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,768 shares of the company's stock worth $473,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Hershey from $135.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Hershey from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Hershey from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Hershey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $169.68.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,334 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $240,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,852,240. The trade was a 3.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $900,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 61,319 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,037,420. The trade was a 7.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 118,311 shares of company stock valued at $20,931,348 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Hershey Stock Down 1.8%

NYSE HSY traded down $3.29 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $184.21. 1,655,457 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,824,238. Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $140.13 and a 52-week high of $208.03. The firm has a market cap of $37.34 billion, a PE ratio of 24.46, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.27. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $173.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $167.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.23. Hershey had a net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 37.36%. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.27 EPS. Hershey's revenue was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Hershey's payout ratio is presently 72.78%.

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.