5,375 Shares in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) Acquired by Provident Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• Provident Investment Management Inc. made a new investment of approximately $919,000 in Hershey Company by acquiring 5,375 shares in the first quarter.
• Hershey recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.37 per share, translating to an annual yield of 2.9%.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Hershey, with Barclays and Morgan Stanley increasing theirs to $190.00 and $189.00, respectively, while maintaining an "equal weight" rating.

Provident Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 5,375 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $919,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its holdings in Hershey by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 2,691 shares of the company's stock valued at $460,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC raised its position in Hershey by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 1,278 shares of the company's stock valued at $214,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Hershey by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 7,248 shares of the company's stock worth $1,229,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 7,189 shares of the company's stock worth $1,179,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Hershey by 2.6% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,768 shares of the company's stock worth $473,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on HSY shares. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Hershey from $155.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Hershey from $178.00 to $175.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Hershey from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. DA Davidson set a $188.00 target price on Hershey and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on Hershey from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $169.68.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY traded down $3.29 during trading on Friday, hitting $184.21. 1,655,457 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,824,238. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $140.13 and a 1 year high of $208.03. The company has a market cap of $37.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.46, a PEG ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 0.27. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $173.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $167.31.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given 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 dividend yield of 3.0%. Hershey's payout ratio is currently 72.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $900,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 61,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,037,420. This represents a 7.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief accounting officer owned 2,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $470,387.34. This trade represents a 24.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 118,311 shares of company stock valued at $20,931,348. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.