LPL Financial LLC Grows Holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Hershey Company by 6.4%, holding approximately 0.21% of the company valued at $72.83 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Several large investors have also significantly raised their positions in Hershey, with Capital International Investors increasing its holdings by 31.4% to over $2.1 billion as of last quarter.
• Hershey recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.37, reflecting an annualized yield of 2.90% and a payout ratio of 67.57%.

LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 6.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 425,818 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 25,704 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.21% of Hershey worth $72,828,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Texas Yale Capital Corp. raised its position in Hershey by 70.6% in the 1st quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. now owns 4,605 shares of the company's stock valued at $788,000 after buying an additional 1,905 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in Hershey by 4.6% during the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 58,962 shares of the company's stock worth $10,084,000 after purchasing an additional 2,616 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC grew its position in Hershey by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 5,231 shares of the company's stock worth $895,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Hershey by 16.9% in the 1st quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,191 shares of the company's stock valued at $717,000 after buying an additional 606 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Applied Finance Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 23.2% during the 1st quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 5,105 shares of the company's stock worth $873,000 after buying an additional 963 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other news, CEO Michele Buck sold 31,210 shares of Hershey 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 directly owned 193,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,134,739.20. This trade represents a 13.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $900,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 61,319 shares in the company, valued at $11,037,420. This trade represents a 7.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 118,311 shares of company stock worth $20,931,348 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on HSY. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Hershey from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Hershey from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Hershey from $162.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $173.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday. 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, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $168.37.

Hershey Trading Up 1.4%

HSY traded up $2.57 on Friday, hitting $188.70. 2,072,840 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,902,214. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.53. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $169.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $165.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.23 billion, a PE ratio of 25.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.27. Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $140.13 and a 12 month high of $208.03.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Hershey's payout ratio is currently 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.