OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A Purchases 70 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A grew its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,240 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A’s holdings in Hershey were worth $549,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in Hershey in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,337,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised 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 purchasing an additional 389,404 shares during the last quarter. Woodstock Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 34.8% during the fourth quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 6,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,168,000 after purchasing an additional 1,780 shares in the last quarter. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at $1,939,000. Finally, Ethos Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Hershey by 59.8% in the 4th quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 3,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $671,000 after buying an additional 1,483 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $41,144.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $167.67 on Thursday. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92. 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 company has a market capitalization of $33.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.38, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a fifty day moving average of $162.39 and a 200 day moving average of $175.37.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on HSY shares. Bernstein Bank lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $163.75.

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.