Diversified Trust Co Increases Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Diversified Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 332.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,838 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,025 shares during the quarter. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,524,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Hershey by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,182,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,830,683,000 after buying an additional 271,636 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Hershey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $349,448,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Hershey by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 997,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $198,085,000 after purchasing an additional 21,229 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. now owns 781,967 shares of the company’s stock worth $151,715,000 after buying an additional 112,304 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 777,761 shares of the company’s stock worth $145,006,000 after buying an additional 19,018 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on HSY. Barclays cut their target price 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. Argus cut their price objective on Hershey from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Hershey from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 21st. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $179.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $213.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, March 15th. One investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $209.67.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of Hershey stock traded down $1.39 on Monday, reaching $182.44. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 523,079 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,885,456. 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 company has a market capitalization of $36.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.22, a PEG ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.36. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $194.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $192.22. The Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $178.82 and a 52-week high of $251.73.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $3.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 18.13% and a return on equity of 50.15%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.96 EPS. Analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.59 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th were paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.54, for a total value of $306,810.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 37,228 shares in the company, valued at $7,614,615.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders have sold 4,500 shares of company stock worth $859,950. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.