Hershey Company (The) $HSY Shares Purchased by Markel Group Inc.

Markel Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 23.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 67,500 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,000 shares during the quarter. Markel Group Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $12,284,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ignite Planners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 1,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 31.3% during the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,473,000 after acquiring an additional 4,548 shares in the last quarter. Check Capital Management Inc. CA increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Check Capital Management Inc. CA now owns 190,689 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,702,000 after acquiring an additional 1,520 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 8,733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,589,000 after acquiring an additional 1,086 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at about $508,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.10, for a total transaction of $291,150.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 57,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,198,599.50. This trade represents a 2.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total transaction of $791,245.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 34,568 shares in the company, valued at $7,814,787.76. The trade was a 9.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 8,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,859,600 in the last 90 days. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on HSY shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $185.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $247.00 to $227.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Hershey from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $217.78.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $194.64 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.25, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.07. Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $152.21 and a 12 month high of $239.48. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $199.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $197.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 9.12% and a return on equity of 28.98%. The business’s revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.09 EPS. Analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.452 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 108.19%.

Hershey 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.