The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Acquired by Silver Oak Securities Incorporated

Silver Oak Securities Incorporated lifted its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 78,757.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 5,520 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,513 shares during the period. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,029,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Hershey by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,911,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,983,427,000 after purchasing an additional 222,960 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Hershey by 143.7% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,465,403 shares of the company’s stock worth $496,039,000 after buying an additional 1,453,819 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Hershey by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,779,549 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,052,000 after buying an additional 35,393 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Hershey by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,170,830 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,260,000 after buying an additional 8,344 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Hershey by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 997,329 shares of the company’s stock worth $198,085,000 after buying an additional 21,229 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $187.00 on Monday. The Hershey Company has a one year low of $178.82 and a one year high of $276.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $191.74 and a 200-day moving average of $190.61. The company has a market capitalization of $38.14 billion, a PE ratio of 20.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.07. Hershey had a return on equity of 51.79% and a net margin of 16.67%. The company had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. This is a positive change from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.55%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.83, for a total value of $278,745.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 38,728 shares in the company, valued at $7,196,824.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.83, for a total transaction of $278,745.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,728 shares in the company, valued at $7,196,824.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total value of $89,938.62. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $369,681.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,453 shares of company stock worth $665,534 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays increased their price objective on Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $191.00 to $183.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $212.78.

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.