Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC Purchases 1,549 Shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY)

Key Points

• Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC increased its stake in Hershey Company by 22.1%, bringing its total shares to 8,572, valued at approximately $1.47 million.
• Major institutional investors, including Capital International Investors and GAMMA Investing LLC, have significantly raised their holdings in Hershey, with increases of 31.4% and a substantial 18,311.7%, respectively.
• Hershey recently reported a 26% increase in revenue year-over-year for the quarter with earnings per share of $1.21, exceeding analysts' expectations.

Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC lifted its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 22.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,572 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,549 shares during the period. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC's holdings in Hershey were worth $1,466,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Kennon Green & Company LLC grew its position in shares of Hershey by 33.3% in the first quarter. Kennon Green & Company LLC now owns 43,146 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,379,000 after purchasing an additional 10,784 shares in the last quarter. William Allan Corp raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 173.1% in the first quarter. William Allan Corp now owns 18,593 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,180,000 after acquiring an additional 11,785 shares in the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its stake in Hershey by 9.5% in the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 31,925 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,460,000 after buying an additional 2,757 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 8.1% during the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 18,625 shares of the company's stock worth $3,186,000 after purchasing an additional 1,390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 8.1% during the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 21,151 shares of the company's stock worth $3,617,000 after purchasing an additional 1,582 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.00, for a total transaction of $3,742,260.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 193,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,563,056. This trade represents a 9.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $900,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 61,319 shares in the company, valued at $11,037,420. This represents a 7.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 118,311 shares of company stock worth $20,931,348. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Hershey from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen raised Hershey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Hershey from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Hershey from $135.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Hershey from $173.00 to $165.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $169.68.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY traded down $1.25 on Thursday, hitting $187.34. 1,977,500 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,832,113. The firm has a market cap of $37.96 billion, a PE ratio of 24.88, a P/E/G ratio of 4.55 and a beta of 0.27. Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $208.03. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $172.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $166.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 37.36%. Hershey's revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.27 earnings per share. On average, 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 will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Hershey's dividend 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.