TrueMark Investments LLC Raises Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

TrueMark Investments LLC raised its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,292 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 959 shares during the quarter. TrueMark Investments LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $3,775,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in HSY. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp lifted its holdings in Hershey by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $762,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its position in shares of Hershey by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 327,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,434,000 after buying an additional 33,344 shares during the last quarter. Florida Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Florida Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,129 shares of the company’s stock worth $699,000 after buying an additional 775 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its position in Hershey by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 5,546 shares of the company’s stock worth $939,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Hershey by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,065 shares of the company’s stock valued at $350,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on HSY. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Hershey in a research note on Monday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $183.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler cut shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $164.67.

Insider Activity

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

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY opened at $165.09 on Wednesday. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $140.13 and a 1 year high of $211.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.42 billion, a PE ratio of 15.15, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.96. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $163.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $174.34.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.28%.

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.