Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) Position Boosted by Markel Group Inc.

Markel Group Inc. raised its position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 21.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,500 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,500 shares during the period. Markel Group Inc.'s holdings in Hershey were worth $9,321,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI grew its position in shares of Hershey by 73.8% in the 1st quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 6,847 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,172,000 after buying an additional 2,908 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP grew its position in Hershey by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 4,797 shares of the company's stock worth $820,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Hudock Inc. grew its position in Hershey by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Hudock Inc. now owns 2,943 shares of the company's stock worth $503,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Napatree Capital LLC grew its position in Hershey by 11.4% during the 1st quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 4,372 shares of the company's stock worth $748,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its position in Hershey by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 4,328 shares of the company's stock worth $740,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced 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 note on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $178.00 to $175.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $167.00 to $155.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $158.84.

Hershey Trading Up 0.0%

Hershey stock traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $171.26. The stock had a trading volume of 2,394,123 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,813,414. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.70 billion, a PE ratio of 21.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.40 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.59. Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $208.03. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $165.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $164.65.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. Hershey's payout ratio is currently 67.57%.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,333 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $6,895,350. This represents a 3.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP James Turoff sold 1,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 54,107 shares of company stock valued at $9,008,118. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

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.