Virtu Financial LLC Purchases 9,051 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Virtu Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 521.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,788 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,051 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,963,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Hershey by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,067,235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,469,855,000 after acquiring an additional 191,671 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Hershey by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 9,106,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,657,189,000 after acquiring an additional 169,660 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Hershey by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,253,041 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,356,681,000 after acquiring an additional 128,982 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Hershey by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,315,653 shares of the company’s stock worth $967,343,000 after acquiring an additional 124,464 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,831,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $876,434,000 after purchasing an additional 104,024 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $172.38 on Friday. Hershey Company has a one year low of $160.07 and a one year high of $239.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.10, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.09. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $188.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $198.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 28.98% and a net margin of 9.12%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.09 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a dividend of $1.452 per share. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 108.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.10, for a total value of $291,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 57,695 shares in the company, valued at $11,198,599.50. This trade represents a 2.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $249.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Hershey from $211.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research lowered Hershey from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $240.00 price target on Hershey in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $215.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $218.06.

About Hershey

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is a leading North American chocolatier and snack manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The company develops, produces and markets a wide range of confectionery and snack products for retail, foodservice and international customers. Hershey’s business spans manufacturing, branded product marketing, packaging and distribution across grocery, convenience, mass merchant and e-commerce channels.

Hershey’s product portfolio centers on chocolate and sugar confectionery, including core brands such as Hershey’s, Reese’s, Hershey’s Kisses and Twizzlers, alongside non-chocolate snacks and confectionery brands.