Allstate Corp Purchases 5,728 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Allstate Corp grew its position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 107.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,082 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,728 shares during the period. Allstate Corp’s holdings in Hershey were worth $2,017,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Friedenthal Financial increased its position in Hershey by 38,266.7% during the fourth quarter. Friedenthal Financial now owns 5,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 5,740 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 166.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 39,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,332,000 after buying an additional 24,509 shares during the last quarter. Winnow Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,070,000. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 42,538 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,957,000 after buying an additional 2,573 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 60,978 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,406,000 after buying an additional 5,239 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.10, for a total transaction of $291,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 57,695 shares in the company, valued at $11,198,599.50. The trade was a 2.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hershey Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of HSY stock opened at $196.87 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.24. Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $154.37 and a fifty-two week high of $239.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.07. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $197.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $198.48.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 9.12% and a return on equity of 28.98%. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.09 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.452 per share. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 108.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on HSY shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $211.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $212.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $218.06.

Hershey 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.