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

Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,301 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,575,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp raised its stake in Hershey by 5.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,348,127,000 after buying an additional 386,670 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Hershey by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,635,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $785,003,000 after buying an additional 247,675 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Hershey by 1.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,753,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $717,606,000 after buying an additional 35,688 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Hershey by 66.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,571,000 after buying an additional 389,404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in Hershey by 3.2% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 964,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $185,027,000 after buying an additional 29,507 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Up 0.4 %

Hershey stock opened at $171.67 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The Hershey Company has a one year low of $140.13 and a one year high of $211.92. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $162.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $176.14. The company has a market capitalization of $34.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.75, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 forecast that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $41,144.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $396,936. This trade represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the topic of several research reports. DA Davidson cut their price objective on Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Bernstein Bank decreased their price objective on Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Piper Sandler lowered Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $153.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $178.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.15.

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.