V Square Quantitative Management LLC Purchases 525 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 28.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,344 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 525 shares during the quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $450,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HSY. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC bought a new stake in Hershey during the third quarter worth approximately $208,000. Marshall Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 1.7% during the third quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 4,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $943,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Good Life Advisors LLC increased its position in Hershey by 108.1% during the third quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 5,052 shares of the company’s stock valued at $969,000 after acquiring an additional 2,624 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1,600.0% in the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 5,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $978,000 after acquiring an additional 4,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SPC Financial Inc. raised its position in Hershey by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 4,705 shares of the company’s stock worth $902,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hershey Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of HSY stock opened at $185.68 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.86. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $178.82 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.55 billion, a PE ratio of 18.40, a P/E/G ratio of 5.44 and a beta of 0.37. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $194.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $193.12.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.17). The business 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%. The firm’s revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.01 EPS. Equities analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.95%. Hershey’s payout ratio is 54.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 stock was sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total value of $107,153.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $644,912.46. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, 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 transaction of $107,153.46. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $644,912.46. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total transaction of $286,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 34,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,531,729.24. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on HSY shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $230.00 to $205.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Citigroup cut shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $195.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. UBS Group cut Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $226.00 to $209.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $188.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $195.00.

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.