Retirement Guys Formula LLC Buys 1,994 Shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY)

Retirement Guys Formula LLC raised its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 49.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,064 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,994 shares during the period. Retirement Guys Formula LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,037,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Hershey by 31.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 12,460,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,110,126,000 after purchasing an additional 2,980,997 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Hershey by 18,311.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,010,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,728,460,000 after buying an additional 1,005,127 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $80,978,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 38.6% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,628,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $275,710,000 after acquiring an additional 453,428 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,635,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $785,003,000 after acquiring an additional 247,675 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.11, for a total value of $153,025.14. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,994 shares in the company, valued at $470,387.34. The trade was a 24.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 31,210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.80, for a total value of $5,018,568.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 193,624 shares in the company, valued at $31,134,739.20. This represents a 13.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

Hershey stock opened at $173.25 on Tuesday. Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 week high of $208.03. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $164.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $165.36. The stock has a market cap of $35.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.36, a P/E/G ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.81 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 38.70% and a net margin of 15.32%. Hershey’s quarterly revenue was down 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.07 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.16%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on HSY shares. UBS Group lowered their price target on Hershey from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $178.00 to $175.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $183.00 to $177.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $167.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $158.84.

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.