Alley Investment Management Company LLC Acquires 29,753 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Alley Investment Management Company LLC increased its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 83.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 65,398 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,753 shares during the quarter. Hershey comprises approximately 1.7% of Alley Investment Management Company LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Alley Investment Management Company LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $13,596,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Hershey by 6.5% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,618,000 after purchasing an additional 937 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Hershey by 20.2% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the second quarter valued at approximately $267,000. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 17,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,975,000 after purchasing an additional 769 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 5.4% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 22,247 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,692,000 after purchasing an additional 1,149 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $175.18 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.24. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $185.55 and its 200 day moving average is $198.15. The stock has a market cap of $35.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.09. Hershey Company has a one year low of $160.07 and a one year high of $239.48.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.31. Hershey had a return on equity of 28.98% and a net margin of 9.12%.The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.09 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $1.452 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 108.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.43, for a total transaction of $260,145.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 54,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,485,753.85. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on Hershey from $230.00 to $208.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 4th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Hershey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Hershey in a report on Monday, April 13th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Hershey from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $217.50.

Hershey Company Profile

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is a leading North American chocolatier and snack manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The company develops, produces and markets a wide range of confectionery and snack products for retail, foodservice and international customers. Hershey’s business spans manufacturing, branded product marketing, packaging and distribution across grocery, convenience, mass merchant and e-commerce channels.

Hershey’s product portfolio centers on chocolate and sugar confectionery, including core brands such as Hershey’s, Reese’s, Hershey’s Kisses and Twizzlers, alongside non-chocolate snacks and confectionery brands.