Lipe & Dalton Has $5.54 Million Holdings in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Lipe & Dalton lowered its position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 14.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 26,656 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,367 shares during the period. Hershey accounts for 2.9% of Lipe & Dalton’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Lipe & Dalton’s holdings in Hershey were worth $5,542,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Syon Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 3,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $550,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Haverford Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 6,796 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,237,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $466,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 8,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,462,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC boosted its holdings in Hershey by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $559,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY opened at $174.44 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $35.38 billion, a PE ratio of 32.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.11. 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 Company has a one year low of $160.07 and a one year high of $239.48. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $184.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $197.83.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 9.12% and a return on equity of 28.98%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.09 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 8.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $1.452 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 108.19%.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.43, for a total value of $260,145.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 54,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,485,753.85. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen upgraded Hershey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Hershey from $247.00 to $227.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Bank of America cut their price objective on Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $217.50.

Hershey Profile

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.