Christine Messmer PC Buys Shares of 6,976 Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• Christine Messmer PC bought a new stake of 6,976 Hershey shares (~$1.27M), which represents 0.8% of its portfolio and is its 25th-largest position.
• Hershey beat the quarter with EPS $2.35 vs. $2.04 and revenue of $3.10B (+10.7% YoY), and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.452 ($5.81 annualized, ~3.2% yield; payout ratio 108.19%) with ex-dividend on May 15.
• Insiders sold about 10,000 shares in the last 90 days (including Rohit Grover and CFO Steven Voskuil), insiders now own 0.08%, while analysts’ consensus is a Hold rating with an average target of $218.33 (7 Buy, 16 Hold).

Christine Messmer PC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 6,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,270,000. Hershey makes up 0.8% of Christine Messmer PC's portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Hershey by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,067,235 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,469,855,000 after acquiring an additional 191,671 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,253,041 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,356,681,000 after buying an additional 128,982 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,614,258 shares of the company's stock valued at $301,947,000 after buying an additional 29,731 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,605,628 shares of the company's stock valued at $300,333,000 after buying an additional 101,305 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,473,427 shares of the company's stock valued at $275,605,000 after buying an additional 52,936 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Rohit Grover sold 3,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total value of $791,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 34,568 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,814,787.76. The trade was a 9.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.10, for a total value of $291,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 57,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,198,599.50. This trade represents a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,000 shares of company stock worth $2,189,090. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Hershey from $247.00 to $227.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays lowered their price target on Hershey from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Mizuho boosted their price target on Hershey from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Hershey from $185.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Hershey from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $218.33.

Hershey Stock Down 0.0%

HSY opened at $182.26 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $210.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $196.79. Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $150.04 and a twelve month high of $239.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market cap of $36.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.07.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.31. Hershey had a return on equity of 28.98% and a net margin of 9.12%.The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.09 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 8.42 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a $1.452 dividend. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Hershey's payout ratio is 108.19%.

Hershey Profile

The Hershey Company NYSE: HSY is a leading North American chocolatier and snack manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The company develops, produces and markets a wide range of confectionery and snack products for retail, foodservice and international customers. Hershey's business spans manufacturing, branded product marketing, packaging and distribution across grocery, convenience, mass merchant and e-commerce channels.

Hershey's product portfolio centers on chocolate and sugar confectionery, including core brands such as Hershey's, Reese's, Hershey's Kisses and Twizzlers, alongside non-chocolate snacks and confectionery brands.

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