IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd Makes New $257,000 Investment in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY)

Key Points

• IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd acquired 1,501 shares of Hershey Company, valued at approximately $257,000, marking a new stake in the firm.
• Several large institutional investors, including Capital International Investors and GAMMA Investing LLC, significantly boosted their stakes in Hershey by substantial percentages in recent quarters.
• The company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the latest quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, with quarterly revenue increasing 26.0% year-over-year.

IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd bought a new stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,501 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $257,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of HSY. Montag & Caldwell LLC bought a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. bought a new position in Hershey in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC raised its position in Hershey by 129.5% in the 1st quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $135.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, DA Davidson set a $188.00 target price on shares of Hershey and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $169.68.

Hershey Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of HSY stock traded down $3.29 on Friday, hitting $184.21. The stock had a trading volume of 1,655,457 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,824,238. 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 $37.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.46, a PEG ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $173.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $167.31.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio is presently 72.78%.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $470,387.34. This represents a 24.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 61,319 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,037,420. The trade was a 7.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 118,311 shares of company stock worth $20,931,348. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

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.