Spectrum Strategic Capital Management LLC Takes $996,000 Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• Spectrum Strategic Capital Management opened a new position in Hershey, buying 5,473 shares valued at about $996,000 in the fourth quarter.
• Institutional ownership remains significant, with hedge funds and other investors holding 57.96% of Hershey shares. Several firms also boosted or initiated positions during the quarter.
• Hershey reported better-than-expected quarterly results with EPS of $2.35 and revenue of $3.10 billion, and it also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.452 per share payable June 15.

Spectrum Strategic Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 5,473 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $996,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 31.3% in the 4th quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 1,782 shares of the company's stock worth $324,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares during the last quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 79.4% in the 4th quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC now owns 9,486 shares of the company's stock worth $1,726,000 after acquiring an additional 4,198 shares during the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 1,150 shares of the company's stock worth $210,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $909,000. Finally, Abacus Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $652,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, SVP Jason Reiman sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total value of $452,140.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 41,036 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,277,008.52. This trade represents a 4.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 3,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total transaction of $791,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 34,568 shares in the company, valued at $7,814,787.76. The trade was a 9.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 10,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,189,090 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Hershey in a report on Monday, April 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $185.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $211.00 to $204.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Hershey from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $218.33.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY stock opened at $186.84 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $150.04 and a 52 week high of $239.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.90 billion, a PE ratio of 34.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.07. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $202.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $197.02.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.31. Hershey had a net margin of 9.12% and a return on equity of 28.98%. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.09 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $1.452 dividend. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 108.19%.

Hershey Profile

The Hershey Company NYSE: HSY is a leading North American chocolatier and snack manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The company develops, produces and markets a wide range of confectionery and snack products for retail, foodservice and international customers. Hershey's business spans manufacturing, branded product marketing, packaging and distribution across grocery, convenience, mass merchant and e-commerce channels.

Hershey's product portfolio centers on chocolate and sugar confectionery, including core brands such as Hershey's, Reese's, Hershey's Kisses and Twizzlers, alongside non-chocolate snacks and confectionery brands.

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