LPL Financial LLC Grows Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 19.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 400,114 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 63,882 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned about 0.20% of Hershey worth $67,759,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Grove Bank & Trust raised its position in Hershey by 248.0% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its position in Hershey by 61.7% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, City State Bank raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 210.0% during the fourth quarter. City State Bank now owns 310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on HSY. Piper Sandler lowered shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $153.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bernstein Bank lowered their target price on Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup upgraded Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $159.00 to $154.00 in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $162.50.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $168.44 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.09 billion, a PE ratio of 15.45, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $140.13 and a 1-year high of $211.92. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $163.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $174.30.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 expect that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

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

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.