The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Bought by Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 2.6% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,768 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $473,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of HSY. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC lifted its holdings in Hershey by 8.3% in the fourth 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 during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Hershey by 57.5% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $285,000 after acquiring an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in Hershey by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 11,516 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,950,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC lifted its holdings in Hershey by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $561,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Hershey by 53.4% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $319,000 after acquiring an additional 656 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.11, for a total transaction of $153,025.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,994 shares in the company, valued at $470,387.34. This represents a 24.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $161.41 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $163.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $166.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.96. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 week high of $208.03. The firm has a market cap of $32.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.81, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.15. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. The company had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.07 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 67.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Hershey from $178.00 to $175.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Hershey from $162.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Barclays upped their target price on Hershey from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $158.84.

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.