Daymark Wealth Partners LLC Raises Stock Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Daymark Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 29.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,746 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 624 shares during the quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $505,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 14.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,341,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,372,965,000 after buying an additional 2,158,912 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 297.9% in the second 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 during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the second quarter worth $82,123,000. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 3,404.3% in the first quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 256,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,879,000 after buying an additional 249,129 shares during the period. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 1,194.0% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 249,347 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,837,000 after buying an additional 230,077 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $193.32 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $39.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.16, a PEG ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.37. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $196.37 and its 200 day moving average is $194.04. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $178.82 and a 1 year high of $211.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 16.76%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.01 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 54.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on HSY shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $237.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Hershey from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $184.00 to $163.00 in a research report on Thursday. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $204.00 to $202.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Hershey has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $198.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total value of $286,245.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 34,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,531,729.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total transaction of $286,245.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 34,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,531,729.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total transaction of $107,153.46. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $644,912.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.