Quest Partners LLC Acquires Shares of 5,271 The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 5,271 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $969,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 218.2% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on HSY. Barclays reduced their target price on Hershey from $210.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Hershey in a research note on Monday, August 12th. They set a “sell” rating and a $185.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup cut Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $195.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $179.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $203.21.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.93, for a total transaction of $274,395.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 35,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,535,723.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.93, for a total transaction of $274,395.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 35,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,535,723.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at $644,912.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,538 shares of company stock valued at $667,793. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $202.83 on Wednesday. The Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $178.82 and a 1-year high of $213.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $194.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $193.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.03 billion, a PE ratio of 20.10, a P/E/G ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 0.37.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 16.76%. Hershey’s quarterly revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.01 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.5 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.