Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) Shares Purchased by William Allan Corp

William Allan Corp raised its position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 173.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,593 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,785 shares during the period. Hershey accounts for 2.0% of William Allan Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. William Allan Corp's holdings in Hershey were worth $3,180,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Alliance LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 197.9% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 4,001 shares of the company's stock valued at $684,000 after buying an additional 2,658 shares in the last quarter. Bingham Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the 1st quarter valued at $283,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 11,321 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,936,000 after buying an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 409.9% in the 1st quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 12,697 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,172,000 after buying an additional 10,207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 20.1% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 11,576 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,980,000 after buying an additional 1,940 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $173.00 to $165.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $167.00 to $155.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Hershey from $147.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $183.00 to $177.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $160.16.

Hershey Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE HSY traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $183.38. 332,369 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,861,725. The company has a market capitalization of $37.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.61, a P/E/G ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 0.30. Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $140.13 and a 52-week high of $208.03. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $166.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $164.89.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.15. The business 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 company's quarterly revenue was down 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.07 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect 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 was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In related news, SVP James Turoff sold 1,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $227,500.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 25,321 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,431,175. This trade represents a 4.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly 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 sold 79,731 shares of company stock valued at $13,620,438. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

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.