Dana Investment Advisors Inc. Acquires New Shares in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,086 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $389,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 4.9% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 11,977 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,396,000 after acquiring an additional 560 shares in the last quarter. Choate Investment Advisors grew its stake in Hershey by 10.3% in the third quarter. Choate Investment Advisors now owns 1,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $235,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.9% during the third quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 29,040 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,810,000 after acquiring an additional 554 shares in the last quarter. Abundance Wealth Counselors acquired a new position in Hershey in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $361,000. Finally, Adirondack Trust Co. increased its holdings in Hershey by 180.5% in the 3rd quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 359 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 231 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of HSY traded up $4.93 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $209.71. 715,629 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,967,072. The Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $178.82 and a 52-week high of $274.58. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $193.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $191.09. The firm has a market cap of $42.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.33. Hershey had a return on equity of 50.15% and a net margin of 18.13%. The business had revenue of $3.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.11 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.96 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 54.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the topic of several research reports. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $191.00 to $183.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Hershey from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, 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 research note on Monday, April 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $213.06.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.83, for a total value of $278,745.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,196,824.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.