Vision Financial Markets LLC Invests $29,000 in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in Hershey in the 3rd quarter worth $1,337,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 66.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,571,000 after acquiring an additional 389,404 shares during the period. Woodstock Corp boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 34.8% in the fourth quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 6,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,168,000 after acquiring an additional 1,780 shares during the period. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter worth about $1,939,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in Hershey by 61.9% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 120,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,052,000 after purchasing an additional 45,936 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hershey Trading Up 1.6 %

Hershey stock opened at $179.87 on Friday. The Hershey Company has a one year low of $140.13 and a one year high of $211.92. The stock has a market cap of $36.41 billion, a PE ratio of 16.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.96. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $161.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $176.78.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 50.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $178.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Piper Sandler cut Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $153.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $164.15.

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.