Bluesphere Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 1,670 Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY)

Bluesphere Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,670 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $286,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp grew its position in shares of Hershey by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 4,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $762,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Hershey by 2.6% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,768 shares of the company's stock worth $473,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A now owns 3,240 shares of the company's stock worth $549,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its holdings in Hershey by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 5,546 shares of the company's stock valued at $939,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its position in Hershey by 42.5% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 238 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY stock opened at $173.25 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $164.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $165.36. Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $140.13 and a 12 month high of $208.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.10 billion, a PE ratio of 21.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 0.29.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on HSY shares. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Hershey from $162.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Mizuho decreased their price target on Hershey from $167.00 to $155.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Hershey from $173.00 to $165.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $158.84.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CEO Michele Buck sold 31,210 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.80, for a total transaction of $5,018,568.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 193,624 shares in the company, valued at $31,134,739.20. This represents a 13.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.11, for a total value of $153,025.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $470,387.34. This trade represents a 24.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.28% of the stock is currently 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.

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