TrueMark Investments LLC Buys 1,879 Shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY)

TrueMark Investments LLC grew its position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 8.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,171 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,879 shares during the quarter. TrueMark Investments LLC's holdings in Hershey were worth $4,134,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $162.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group lowered their price objective 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. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $178.00 to $175.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $183.00 to $177.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $173.00 to $165.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Five 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.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $158.84.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.11, for a total transaction of $153,025.14. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $470,387.34. This represents a 24.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 31,210 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 193,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,134,739.20. This represents a 13.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Hershey Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:HSY traded up $1.80 during trading on Monday, reaching $173.25. The stock had a trading volume of 1,354,495 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,797,705. The firm's fifty day moving average is $164.50 and its 200 day moving average is $165.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.59. Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 week high of $208.03. The stock has a market cap of $35.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.36, a P/E/G ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 0.29.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 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 analyst estimates of $2.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.07 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

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

About Hershey

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.