Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Has $740,000 Holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 8.4% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,328 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $740,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in Hershey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,509,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Hershey by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 97,172 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,456,000 after buying an additional 3,434 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,475,000. iA Global Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 325.3% during the 4th quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,322,000 after acquiring an additional 5,972 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. now owns 3,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $675,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,333 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total transaction of $233,275.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 39,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,895,350. This represents a 3.27% 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, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.11, for a total value of $153,025.14. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,994 shares in the company, valued at $470,387.34. The trade was a 24.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 54,107 shares of company stock valued at $9,008,118 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the subject of several research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Hershey from $147.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $183.00 to $177.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $178.00 to $175.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $173.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $158.84.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE:HSY opened at $171.26 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $34.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.40 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $165.40 and its 200-day moving average is $164.65. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $140.13 and a 1-year high of $208.03.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 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 firm earned $3.07 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 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.