Abacus Planning Group Inc. Takes Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Abacus Planning Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $282,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Hershey by 8.8% in the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,171,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Hershey by 225.9% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 46,777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,000,000 after acquiring an additional 32,422 shares during the period. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Hershey by 15.6% in the 1st quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,919 shares of the company’s stock valued at $499,000 after acquiring an additional 395 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey during the first quarter worth approximately $286,000. Finally, KFG Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 15.7% during the first quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $862,000 after acquiring an additional 682 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CEO Michele Buck sold 31,210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.80, for a total transaction of $5,018,568.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 193,624 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,134,739.20. The trade was a 13.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.11, for a total transaction of $153,025.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $470,387.34. This trade represents a 24.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Hershey stock opened at $161.83 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market cap of $32.79 billion, a PE ratio of 14.85, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.29. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $208.03. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $163.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $165.80.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.81 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.07 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.39%. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 67.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Hershey from $183.00 to $177.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $173.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $167.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.