Fiduciary Family Office LLC Invests $279,000 in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY)

Key Points

• Fiduciary Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey Company worth approximately $279,000 by purchasing 1,629 shares in the 1st quarter.
• Insider sales included CFO Steven E. Voskuil selling 5,000 shares for $900,000, resulting in a 7.54% decrease in his ownership.
• Hershey recently reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.21, exceeding estimates, with revenue hitting $2.61 billion, a 26% increase year-over-year.

Fiduciary Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 1,629 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $279,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Montag & Caldwell LLC purchased a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Hershey during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. acquired a new position in Hershey in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Hershey by 129.5% in the first quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief accounting officer owned 2,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $470,387.34. This trade represents a 24.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,037,420. The trade was a 7.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 118,311 shares of company stock valued at $20,931,348. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hershey Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE HSY traded up $0.52 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $180.58. The company had a trading volume of 659,141 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,858,427. Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $208.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.61 billion, a PE ratio of 23.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.26 and a beta of 0.27. The stock's 50 day moving average is $174.45 and its 200-day moving average is $167.87.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HSY has been the topic of several research reports. Bank of America raised their price objective on Hershey from $175.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Hershey from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Mizuho lifted their target price on Hershey from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $168.83.

Hershey Company 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.