Moors & Cabot Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 18.7% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 12,092 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,904 shares during the quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $2,223,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Hershey by 10.0% in 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 during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 179.4% in the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 6,958 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,353,000 after acquiring an additional 4,468 shares during the period. Prudential PLC increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 17,890 shares during the last quarter. Bridgefront Capital LLC bought a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at about $972,000. Finally, Oak Harvest Investment Services purchased a new position in Hershey in the first quarter worth about $5,383,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup lowered shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $195.00 to $182.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Hershey in a research report on Monday, August 12th. They set a “sell” rating and a $185.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $179.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $203.21.

Hershey Price Performance

HSY stock opened at $199.28 on Wednesday. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $195.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $193.91. The Hershey Company has a one year low of $178.82 and a one year high of $213.72. The company has a market capitalization of $40.30 billion, a PE ratio of 19.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 0.37.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.17). Hershey had a net margin of 16.76% and a return on equity of 45.36%. The company 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 earned $2.01 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 54.31%.

Insider Activity

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

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.