Kraft Davis & Associates LLC Purchases Shares of 1,579 The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Kraft Davis & Associates LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $301,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. acquired a new position in Hershey in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 121.3% during the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 135 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hershey Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Hershey stock traded up $0.16 on Friday, reaching $185.02. 1,740,042 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,981,138. The Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $178.82 and a 1-year high of $276.88. The company has a market cap of $37.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $192.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $190.97.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.72 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 51.79% and a net margin of 16.67%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.02 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.96%. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 60.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HSY has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Citigroup decreased 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. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Morgan Stanley lowered Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $191.00 to $183.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $223.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $296,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 40,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,961,121.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $296,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 40,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,961,121.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total value of $89,938.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $369,681.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,453 shares of company stock worth $670,244 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.