First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown Increases Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown raised its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 18.6% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,916 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown’s holdings in Hershey were worth $352,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. AJOVista LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter worth about $153,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. raised its holdings in Hershey by 1,263.3% in the 4th quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 15,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,816,000 after buying an additional 13,997 shares during the period. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,332,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 179.4% in the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 6,958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,353,000 after buying an additional 4,468 shares during the period. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 78,757.1% during the fourth quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 5,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 5,513 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $237.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $179.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, June 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Hershey from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Argus lowered shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Hershey from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $203.47.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total transaction of $107,153.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $644,912.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total transaction of $286,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 34,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,531,729.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total value of $107,153.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at $644,912.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,538 shares of company stock worth $667,793 over the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hershey Stock Performance

Hershey stock traded down $1.87 on Thursday, hitting $195.60. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 600,655 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,818,949. The firm has a market cap of $39.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.96 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $190.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $193.27. The Hershey Company has a one year low of $178.82 and a one year high of $219.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 16.76%. Hershey’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.01 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.31%.

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.