RiverFront Investment Group LLC Has $1.11 Million Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

RiverFront Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 324.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,577 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,027 shares during the period. RiverFront Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,114,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at about $80,978,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Hershey by 66.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,571,000 after acquiring an additional 389,404 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in Hershey by 5.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,348,127,000 after acquiring an additional 386,670 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,635,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $785,003,000 after acquiring an additional 247,675 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $21,439,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hershey Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $169.87 on Friday. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $140.13 and a 1 year high of $211.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market cap of $34.38 billion, a PE ratio of 15.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $164.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $174.04.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. On average, research analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.23%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on HSY. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Hershey in a report on Monday, March 24th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $183.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Piper Sandler cut shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $178.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $162.50.

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.