Plato Investment Management Ltd Buys 258 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 7,881 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 258 shares during the quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,449,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 10.0% during the second quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 320,680 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,951,000 after purchasing an additional 29,246 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its stake in Hershey by 179.4% in the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 6,958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,353,000 after acquiring an additional 4,468 shares during the period. Prudential PLC grew its stake in Hershey by 21.8% in the fourth quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 100,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,660,000 after acquiring an additional 17,890 shares during the period. Bridgefront Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter worth about $972,000. Finally, Oak Harvest Investment Services acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the first quarter worth about $5,383,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.93, for a total value of $274,395.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 35,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,535,723.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total transaction of $107,153.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $644,912.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.93, for a total transaction of $274,395.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 35,728 shares in the company, valued at $6,535,723.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,538 shares of company stock valued at $667,793 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hershey Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE HSY opened at $200.83 on Monday. The Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $178.82 and a 12 month high of $213.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $195.11 and a 200-day moving average of $193.74. The company has a market cap of $40.61 billion, a PE ratio of 19.90, a PEG ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 0.37.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors 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 2.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 54.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Argus lowered Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $237.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on Hershey from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $203.21.

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.