Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. Invests $11.04 Million in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY)

Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 67,596 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,037,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HSY. Montag & Caldwell LLC purchased a new stake in Hershey during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group lowered their price target on Hershey from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $183.00 to $177.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Hershey from $162.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Hershey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $158.84.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CEO Michele Buck sold 31,210 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.80, for a total value of $5,018,568.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 193,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,134,739.20. This trade represents a 13.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,333 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $233,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 39,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,895,350. This trade represents a 3.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 54,107 shares of company stock valued at $9,008,118. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Hershey Trading Down 2.3%

NYSE HSY traded down $4.08 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $173.00. The company had a trading volume of 733,761 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,793,894. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.54 and a beta of 0.30. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $165.04 and a 200 day moving average of $164.92. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $140.13 and a 1-year high of $208.03.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.81 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 38.70%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.07 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.57%.

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.