Sei Investments Co. Purchases 128,950 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 165.3% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 206,972 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 128,950 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $43,028,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators bought a new stake in Hershey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,633,000. Prudential PLC boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 237.3% during the 4th quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 7,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,454,000 after acquiring an additional 5,620 shares during the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 38,266.7% in the fourth quarter. Friedenthal Financial now owns 5,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 5,740 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth $2,744,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in Hershey by 126.4% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 84,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,508,000 after purchasing an additional 47,017 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.43, for a total value of $260,145.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 54,695 shares in the company, valued at $9,485,753.85. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on HSY shares. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $249.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 25th. BTIG Research began coverage on Hershey in a research note on Monday, April 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Hershey from $247.00 to $227.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Hershey from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $208.28.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of HSY stock opened at $174.43 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $180.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $196.90. Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $161.43 and a 52-week high of $239.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.11.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.31. Hershey had a return on equity of 28.98% and a net margin of 9.12%.The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 8.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $1.452 dividend. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 108.19%.

Hershey Company Profile

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is a leading North American chocolatier and snack manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The company develops, produces and markets a wide range of confectionery and snack products for retail, foodservice and international customers. Hershey’s business spans manufacturing, branded product marketing, packaging and distribution across grocery, convenience, mass merchant and e-commerce channels.

Hershey’s product portfolio centers on chocolate and sugar confectionery, including core brands such as Hershey’s, Reese’s, Hershey’s Kisses and Twizzlers, alongside non-chocolate snacks and confectionery brands.