Moran Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY)

Moran Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 5.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 89,801 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,680 shares during the quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $15,359,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ethos Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Hershey by 59.8% in the fourth quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 3,962 shares of the company’s stock valued at $671,000 after purchasing an additional 1,483 shares during the period. DJE Kapital AG acquired a new stake in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,040,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted 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 worth $3,186,000 after acquiring an additional 1,390 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Hershey by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,635,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $785,003,000 after acquiring an additional 247,675 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global View Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $253,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on HSY. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Mizuho cut their price target on Hershey from $167.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Hershey from $173.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Hershey from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on Hershey from $162.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $158.84.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $470,387.34. This trade represents a 24.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 31,210 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.80, for a total transaction of $5,018,568.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 193,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,134,739.20. This trade represents a 13.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $172.06 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $164.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $165.40. Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $140.13 and a 12 month high of $208.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.22, a PEG ratio of 6.32 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) 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 previous year, the business posted $3.07 earnings per share. Hershey’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 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.18%. Hershey’s payout ratio is 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.