Verity & Verity LLC Has $9.24 Million Stock Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Verity & Verity LLC raised its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,276 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,468 shares during the period. Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $9,242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in Hershey by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 256,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,864,000 after buying an additional 14,888 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Hershey by 52.0% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 3,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $589,000 after acquiring an additional 1,081 shares in the last quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Hershey by 42.3% in the fourth quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 2,121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $395,000 after acquiring an additional 630 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 11,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,167,000 after acquiring an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position in shares of Hershey by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 20,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,835,000 after purchasing an additional 626 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY opened at $191.89 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $38.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.02, a P/E/G ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.37. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $196.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $193.94. The Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $178.82 and a 12 month high of $211.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.17). The business 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 quarterly revenue was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.01 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on HSY shares. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $204.00 to $202.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $179.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Hershey in a research report on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $185.00 price objective for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $198.63.

Hershey 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.