Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors Raises Stock Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors increased its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 23.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,078 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 395 shares during the quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors’ holdings in Hershey were worth $387,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. acquired a new position in Hershey during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in Hershey during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new position in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its position in Hershey by 121.3% during the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, insider Charles R. Raup sold 2,065 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.85, for a total transaction of $396,170.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 14,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,833,624.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total transaction of $89,938.62. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $369,681.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Charles R. Raup sold 2,065 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.85, for a total value of $396,170.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 14,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,833,624.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,518 shares of company stock worth $1,066,414. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY stock opened at $182.53 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $37.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.34. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $193.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $191.29. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $178.82 and a 12-month high of $276.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.07. Hershey had a return on equity of 51.79% and a net margin of 16.67%. The firm had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.72 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.02 EPS. Hershey’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $1.37 dividend. This is an increase from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup cut their price objective on Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $213.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Hershey from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $223.81.

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.