XTX Topco Ltd Makes New Investment in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 6,018 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,106,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in Hershey by 218.2% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the first quarter valued at $29,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Hershey by 55.0% during the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Hershey in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Hershey during the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $195.43 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market cap of $39.52 billion, a PE ratio of 19.37, a PEG ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 0.37. The company’s fifty day moving average is $196.30 and its 200 day moving average is $194.07. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $178.82 and a 52 week high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.01 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 54.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.93, for a total value of $274,395.00. Following 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total transaction of $107,153.46. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $644,912.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.93, for a total value of $274,395.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 35,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,535,723.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,538 shares of company stock valued at $667,793 over the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $237.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. 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. Argus cut shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Hershey in a research note on Monday, August 12th. They set a “sell” rating and a $185.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $179.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $203.21.

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.