The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Bought by Jacobi Capital Management LLC

Jacobi Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 27.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,104 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,311 shares during the period. Jacobi Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,034,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Hershey by 248.0% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Hershey by 61.7% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Hershey in the 3rd quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, City State Bank raised its holdings in Hershey by 210.0% in the 4th quarter. City State Bank now owns 310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on HSY. Bernstein Bank cut their price objective on shares of 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 downgraded shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $153.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.15.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hershey Stock Up 0.2 %

Hershey stock opened at $172.68 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.96. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92. The company has a market capitalization of $34.94 billion, a PE ratio of 15.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.37. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $160.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $177.17.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. Research analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.28%.

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.