Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Purchases 61 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 10.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 647 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $119,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HSY. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Hershey by 20.6% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 55.0% in the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in Hershey by 13.3% during the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 486 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its stake in Hershey by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 1,673 shares of the company’s stock worth $308,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Advisors Network LLC lifted its stake in Hershey by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 1,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $197.63 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.86. The Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $178.82 and a 52-week high of $212.85. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $196.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $193.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.59, a P/E/G ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 0.37.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 16.76%. Hershey’s revenue was down 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.01 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.5 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $209.00 to $205.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Hershey from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $179.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Hershey in a research report on Monday, August 12th. They set a “sell” rating and a $185.00 target price for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $203.21.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total transaction of $286,245.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 34,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,531,729.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.83, for a total transaction of $286,245.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 34,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,531,729.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total transaction of $107,153.46. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $644,912.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,538 shares of company stock worth $667,793. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.