Rakuten Securities Inc. Purchases New Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. purchased a new stake in Hershey in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in Hershey in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its stake in Hershey by 121.3% in the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 135 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Hershey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, First Financial Corp IN purchased a new stake in Hershey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. 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, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total transaction of $89,938.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $369,681.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $296,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 40,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,961,121.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total transaction of $89,938.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $369,681.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,453 shares of company stock valued at $670,244 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

HSY stock opened at $184.86 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $37.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.97. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $192.52 and its 200 day moving average is $191.07. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $178.82 and a 52 week high of $276.88.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.72 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 16.67% and a return on equity of 51.79%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.02 EPS. Research analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.96%. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on HSY shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $213.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Hershey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, January 29th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $223.33.

Hershey Company 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.