The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Bought by Massachusetts Wealth Management

Massachusetts Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,007 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Massachusetts Wealth Management’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,152,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Hershey by 14.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,341,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,372,965,000 after buying an additional 2,158,912 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in Hershey by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,487,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,327,000 after purchasing an additional 90,329 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Hershey by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 787,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,743,000 after purchasing an additional 25,780 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Hershey by 23.2% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 783,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,962,000 after purchasing an additional 147,215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Hershey by 297.9% during the 2nd quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 717,831 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,959,000 after purchasing an additional 537,419 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on HSY. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Hershey from $179.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Hershey in a research note on Monday, August 12th. They set a “sell” rating and a $185.00 price target on the stock. Barclays lowered their target price on Hershey from $204.00 to $202.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Hershey from $188.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $191.55.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total value of $107,153.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $644,912.46. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY traded down $0.18 on Friday, hitting $182.02. 138,349 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,672,086. The firm has a market cap of $36.81 billion, a PE ratio of 18.06, a P/E/G ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 0.37. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $178.82 and a twelve month high of $211.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $193.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $192.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.01 EPS. Hershey’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.31%.

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.