Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Purchases 13,244 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 12.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 117,014 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 13,244 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC owned 0.06% of Hershey worth $22,759,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Hershey in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. First Financial Corp IN bought a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Highlander Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Hershey by 125.3% in the fourth quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Edward Jones restated a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, April 19th. BNP Paribas cut Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $179.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, June 21st. Barclays dropped their price target on Hershey from $210.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $213.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, March 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $209.67.

Hershey Stock Up 0.2 %

HSY stock traded up $0.40 during trading on Friday, reaching $184.15. 1,169,458 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,538,399. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $193.91 and its 200 day moving average is $192.11. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $178.82 and a twelve month high of $249.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market cap of $37.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.36.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.33. Hershey had a return on equity of 50.15% and a net margin of 18.13%. The business had revenue of $3.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.96 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.59 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th were paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.31%.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.54, for a total value of $306,810.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 37,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,614,615.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 4,500 shares of company stock valued at $859,950 over the last ninety days. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.