The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Stock Position Lifted by Evexia Wealth LLC

Evexia Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,631 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 646 shares during the quarter. Hershey comprises about 1.7% of Evexia Wealth LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Evexia Wealth LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $4,078,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. First Financial Corp IN bought a new position in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Highlander Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Hershey by 125.3% during the 4th quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of HSY traded up $1.61 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $198.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,047,287 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,989,480. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market cap of $40.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a 50 day moving average of $192.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $190.85. The Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $178.82 and a 1-year high of $275.89.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.33. Hershey had a net margin of 18.13% and a return on equity of 50.15%. The firm had revenue of $3.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.96 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.83, for a total transaction of $278,745.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,728 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,196,824.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on HSY shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $213.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Hershey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 29th. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $191.00 to $183.00 in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Hershey from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $213.06.

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.