Ritholtz Wealth Management Takes $336,000 Position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY)

Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $336,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Montag & Caldwell LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in Hershey in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CEO Michele Buck sold 31,210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.80, for a total transaction of $5,018,568.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 193,624 shares in the company, valued at $31,134,739.20. The trade was a 13.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $470,387.34. This 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 Price Performance

HSY stock opened at $171.70 on Friday. Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 week high of $208.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.20 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $164.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $165.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 67.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HSY has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their price target on Hershey from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup decreased their target price on Hershey from $173.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Hershey from $167.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. DA Davidson upped their price target on Hershey from $162.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $183.00 to $177.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $158.84.

About Hershey

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.