nVerses Capital LLC Makes New $55,000 Investment in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new stake in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at $2,332,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 179.4% during the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 6,958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,353,000 after purchasing an additional 4,468 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 21.8% during the fourth quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 100,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,660,000 after buying an additional 17,890 shares during the last quarter. Bridgefront Capital LLC bought a new stake in Hershey in the 4th quarter worth about $972,000. Finally, Oak Harvest Investment Services purchased a new position in Hershey in the 1st quarter worth about $5,383,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total transaction of $286,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,531,729.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total transaction of $286,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 34,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,531,729.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total value of $107,153.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at $644,912.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,538 shares of company stock worth $667,793 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Up 0.7 %

HSY opened at $198.69 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $40.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $192.79 and its 200 day moving average is $193.26. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $178.82 and a fifty-two week high of $214.66.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.17). Hershey had a return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 16.76%. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.01 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Hershey in a research report on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $185.00 target price for the company. Argus lowered shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Hershey from $210.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $202.79.

Hershey 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.