St. James Investment Company LLC Acquires 50,290 Shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY)

St. James Investment Company LLC boosted its position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 77.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 115,238 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 50,290 shares during the quarter. Hershey comprises 3.3% of St. James Investment Company LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. St. James Investment Company LLC owned about 0.06% of Hershey worth $19,709,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HSY. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC lifted its stake in Hershey by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 46,708 shares of the company's stock worth $7,910,000 after purchasing an additional 3,578 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at $251,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at $236,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at $73,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of Hershey by 20.6% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 12,403 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,100,000 after buying an additional 2,118 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on HSY. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Hershey from $162.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective 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. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $173.00 to $165.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of 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 increased their target price on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued 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 target price of $158.84.

Hershey Trading Down 2.3%

NYSE HSY traded down $4.08 during trading on Friday, hitting $173.00. The company had a trading volume of 733,761 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,796,402. The company's fifty day moving average is $165.42 and its 200-day moving average is $164.86. 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. The company has a market cap of $35.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.52 and a beta of 0.30.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.15. Hershey had a net margin of 15.32% and a return on equity of 38.70%. The company had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.07 earnings per share. Hershey's quarterly revenue was down 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share 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 $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. Hershey's dividend payout ratio is currently 67.57%.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In related news, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,333 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $233,275.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 39,402 shares in the company, valued at $6,895,350. The trade was a 3.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP James Turoff sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $227,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 25,321 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,431,175. This trade represents a 4.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 54,107 shares of company stock worth $9,008,118. 0.34% of the stock is 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.