Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) Holdings Raised by CORDA Investment Management LLC.

CORDA Investment Management LLC. boosted its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 10.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 95,392 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,723 shares during the quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC.'s holdings in Hershey were worth $16,315,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 2.4% during the first quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 2,691 shares of the company's stock worth $460,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 4,500 shares of the company's stock worth $762,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 2.6% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,768 shares of the company's stock worth $473,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 3.0% during the first quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC now owns 2,407 shares of the company's stock worth $412,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A raised its position in Hershey by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A now owns 3,240 shares of the company's stock worth $549,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP James Turoff sold 1,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $227,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 25,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,431,175. The trade was a 4.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,333 shares of the business'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 $233,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 39,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,895,350. This trade represents a 3.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 54,107 shares of company stock valued at $9,008,118 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hershey Stock Up 0.1%

HSY stock traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $164.82. 1,080,547 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,809,282. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $208.03. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $165.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $164.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.08 and a beta of 0.30.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.15. Hershey had a return on equity of 38.70% and a net margin of 15.32%. The company had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.07 EPS. Hershey's revenue for the quarter was down 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio is presently 67.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on HSY shares. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Hershey from $162.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Hershey from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays increased their price objective on Hershey from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen cut Hershey from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Hershey from $178.00 to $175.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $158.84.

About Hershey

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.