Retirement Guys Formula LLC Increases Stock Position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY)

Retirement Guys Formula LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 49.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,064 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,994 shares during the quarter. Retirement Guys Formula LLC's holdings in Hershey were worth $1,037,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp increased its holdings in Hershey by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 4,500 shares of the company's stock worth $762,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,768 shares of the company's stock valued at $473,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A grew its holdings in Hershey by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A now owns 3,240 shares of the company's stock worth $549,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 5,546 shares of the company's stock worth $939,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Hershey by 42.5% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 238 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Hershey Trading Up 1.1%

Hershey stock opened at $173.25 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.59. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $164.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $165.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.36, a PEG ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 0.29. Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 week high of $208.03.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. Hershey's dividend payout ratio is presently 67.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Mizuho decreased their target price 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. Citigroup lowered their price target on Hershey from $173.00 to $165.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on Hershey from $178.00 to $175.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Hershey has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $158.84.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Michele Buck sold 31,210 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.80, for a total transaction of $5,018,568.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 193,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,134,739.20. This trade represents a 13.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.11, for a total transaction of $153,025.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,994 shares in the company, valued at $470,387.34. This trade represents a 24.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by 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.

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