Moran Wealth Management LLC Increases Holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY)

Moran Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 5.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 89,801 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,680 shares during the quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $15,359,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Hershey by 22.1% in the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,469 shares of the company’s stock valued at $593,000 after purchasing an additional 627 shares during the last quarter. Bluesphere Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the 1st quarter valued at about $286,000. Retirement Guys Formula LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 49.0% in the first quarter. Retirement Guys Formula LLC now owns 6,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,037,000 after buying an additional 1,994 shares during the last quarter. Clearview Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey during the first quarter worth about $283,000. Finally, Palisade Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Hershey by 4.3% during the first quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC now owns 31,089 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,317,000 after acquiring an additional 1,285 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Michele Buck sold 31,210 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.80, for a total value of $5,018,568.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 193,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,134,739.20. This represents a 13.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.11, for a total value of $153,025.14. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,994 shares in the company, valued at $470,387.34. This represents a 24.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hershey Stock Down 0.6%

HSY stock opened at $172.06 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $164.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $165.40. Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $140.13 and a 12 month high of $208.03. The company has a market cap of $34.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.22, a PEG ratio of 6.32 and a beta of 0.29.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.15. Hershey had a return on equity of 38.70% and a net margin of 15.32%. The firm had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.07 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on HSY. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Hershey from $178.00 to $175.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Hershey from $147.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on Hershey from $167.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $158.84.

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.