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 acquired a new position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,629 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $279,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Montag & Caldwell LLC bought a new stake in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. bought a new stake in Hershey in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Hershey by 129.5% in the 1st quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 5,000 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $11,037,420. The trade was a 7.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 193,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,563,056. The trade was a 9.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 118,311 shares of company stock worth $20,931,348. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on HSY shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Hershey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 2nd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $135.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $169.68.

Hershey Price Performance

HSY traded up $0.89 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $176.31. The company had a trading volume of 1,447,244 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,959,718. 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 company has a market capitalization of $35.74 billion, a PE ratio of 23.41, a P/E/G ratio of 4.23 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 firm's 50-day simple moving average is $174.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $167.78.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.27 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.78%.

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.