Tectonic Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY)

Tectonic Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 58.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,638 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,712 shares during the period. Tectonic Advisors LLC's holdings in Hershey were worth $793,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kennon Green & Company LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 33.3% during the 1st quarter. Kennon Green & Company LLC now owns 43,146 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,379,000 after purchasing an additional 10,784 shares during the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its position in Hershey by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 31,925 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,460,000 after buying an additional 2,757 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in Hershey by 8.1% in the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 18,625 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,186,000 after buying an additional 1,390 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its stake in Hershey by 8.1% in the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 21,151 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,617,000 after buying an additional 1,582 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elevate Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Hershey by 23.2% in the first quarter. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,105 shares of the company's stock worth $2,412,000 after acquiring an additional 2,657 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other news, CEO Michele Buck sold 31,210 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.80, for a total value of $5,018,568.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 193,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,134,739.20. The trade was a 13.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,333 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $233,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 39,402 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,895,350. This represents a 3.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 54,107 shares of company stock valued at $9,008,118. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on HSY shares. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $178.00 to $175.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Hershey from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Hershey from $147.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group dropped their price target on Hershey from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Hershey from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $158.84.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of Hershey stock traded up $1.31 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $164.22. The stock had a trading volume of 1,343,573 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,805,774. The stock's 50 day moving average is $165.47 and its 200 day moving average is $164.62. 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 Company has a twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $208.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.27 billion, a PE ratio of 20.25, a PEG ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 0.30.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. Hershey's dividend payout ratio is presently 67.57%.

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.