Ritholtz Wealth Management Acquires Shares of 1,966 Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY)

Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,966 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $336,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Montag & Caldwell LLC bought a new stake in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on HSY shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $162.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. 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 report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $183.00 to $177.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $158.84.

Hershey Price Performance

HSY stock traded down $1.07 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $172.06. 1,697,548 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,797,306. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $164.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $165.36. The company has a market cap of $34.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.22, a P/E/G ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 0.29. Hershey Company has a one year low of $140.13 and a one year high of $208.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

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 business had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.07 earnings per share. Hershey's revenue was down 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.18%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio is currently 67.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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