The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Bought by Mutual of America Capital Management LLC

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,105 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 529 shares during the quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $4,494,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. acquired a new stake in Hershey during the third quarter worth $25,000. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the third quarter valued at $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 121.3% in the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HSY has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $213.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $223.81.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, insider Charles R. Raup sold 2,065 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.85, for a total transaction of $396,170.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,833,624.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.97, for a total transaction of $283,455.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 29,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,634,329.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Charles R. Raup sold 2,065 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.85, for a total value of $396,170.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,833,624.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,518 shares of company stock valued at $1,066,414 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $182.53 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $37.23 billion, a PE ratio of 20.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $178.82 and a 52-week high of $276.88. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $193.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $191.29.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.72 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 51.79% and a net margin of 16.67%. The business’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This is an increase from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.00%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.55%.

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.