Claro Advisors LLC Grows Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Claro Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 30.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,389 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,252 shares during the quarter. Claro Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,048,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. First Financial Corp IN purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in Hershey in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Highlander Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 125.3% in the fourth quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on HSY shares. Argus decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. BNP Paribas cut Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Hershey from $210.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. 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 research note on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $213.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, March 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Hershey presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $209.67.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.54, for a total transaction of $306,810.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 37,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,614,615.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,500 shares of company stock worth $859,950. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $182.45 on Tuesday. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $178.82 and a 12-month high of $251.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $194.24 and a 200 day moving average of $192.22.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.33. Hershey had a net margin of 18.13% and a return on equity of 50.15%. The firm had revenue of $3.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.96 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.59 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 given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 54.31%.

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.