Liberty One Investment Management LLC Has $4.38 Million Position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY)

Liberty One Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 10.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,607 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,348 shares during the period. Liberty One Investment Management LLC's holdings in Hershey were worth $4,380,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Montag & Caldwell LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Proffitt & Goodson Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,333 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 transaction of $233,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 39,402 shares in the company, valued at $6,895,350. The trade was a 3.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 31,210 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.80, for a total value of $5,018,568.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 193,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,134,739.20. This represents a 13.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 54,107 shares of company stock worth $9,008,118. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on HSY shares. Mizuho dropped 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. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Hershey from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 6th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $162.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $158.84.

Hershey Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of HSY traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $164.82. The stock had a trading volume of 1,080,547 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,806,630. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $165.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $164.76. 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 $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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. Hershey's payout ratio is currently 67.57%.

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.