Sunbelt Securities Inc. Purchases 164 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 24.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 824 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 164 shares during the quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $160,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA increased its holdings in Hershey by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 754 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Hershey by 20.6% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC raised its holdings in Hershey by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,661 shares of the company’s stock valued at $683,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 5,839 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,089,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mount Lucas Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Mount Lucas Management LP now owns 9,619 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,793,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $183.83 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market cap of $37.18 billion, a PE ratio of 18.22, a PEG ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 0.37. The company’s fifty day moving average is $194.24 and its 200 day moving average is $192.15. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $178.82 and a 52 week high of $251.73.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $3.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 50.15% and a net margin of 18.13%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.96 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on HSY shares. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Argus cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 21st. Barclays cut their price target on shares of 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 reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $213.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, March 15th. One equities 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $209.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 35,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,535,723.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold a total of 4,500 shares of company stock valued at $859,950 over the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.