Mather Group LLC. Acquires 779 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Mather Group LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 80.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,743 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 779 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $339,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Hershey by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,341,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,372,965,000 after acquiring an additional 2,158,912 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $349,448,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Hershey by 297.9% during the 2nd quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 717,831 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,959,000 after buying an additional 537,419 shares in the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 3,404.3% in the 1st quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 256,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,879,000 after buying an additional 249,129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 98.4% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 419,947 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,680,000 after buying an additional 208,293 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total transaction of $286,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,228 shares in the company, valued at $6,531,729.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,500 shares of company stock worth $867,450. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America decreased their price target on Hershey from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $179.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Hershey from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays reduced their price target on Hershey from $210.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Argus decreased their price objective on Hershey from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $204.50.

Hershey Stock Up 1.0 %

HSY traded up $2.00 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $201.39. 349,420 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,852,213. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $189.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $192.83. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $178.82 and a twelve month high of $230.69. The stock has a market cap of $40.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.96 and a beta of 0.36.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.17). Hershey had a net margin of 16.76% and a return on equity of 45.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.01 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.59 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 54.31%.

Hershey Company 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.