Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) Stock Position Raised by Valeo Financial Advisors LLC

Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 28.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,816 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,249 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Hershey were worth $2,534,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of HSY. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at about $18,273,000. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter worth about $1,758,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in Hershey by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 56,346 shares of the company's stock worth $9,542,000 after purchasing an additional 5,079 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in Hershey by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 19,349 shares of the company's stock worth $3,277,000 after purchasing an additional 1,222 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marathon Trading Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter worth about $931,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In related news, CEO Michele Buck sold 19,290 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $3,375,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 193,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at $33,884,200. This represents a 9.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP James Turoff sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction 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 represents a 4.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 54,107 shares of company stock valued at $9,008,118 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased 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 report on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $173.00 to $165.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Hershey from $162.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $167.00 to $155.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Hershey has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $158.84.

Hershey Trading Down 3.2%

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $169.98 on Wednesday. Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $208.03. The firm has a market cap of $34.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.96, a P/E/G ratio of 6.48 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a 50 day moving average of $165.75 and a 200-day moving average of $164.85. 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 (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.15. Hershey had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 38.70%. The business had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.07 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. Hershey's dividend payout ratio is presently 67.57%.

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.

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