DT Investment Partners LLC Has $4.08 Million Stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

DT Investment Partners LLC decreased its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,645 shares of the company’s stock after selling 70 shares during the quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $4,075,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Blair William & Co. IL raised its position in shares of Hershey by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 30,767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,665,000 after buying an additional 916 shares in the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $238,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Hershey by 28.8% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $339,000 after buying an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Hershey by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,057,990 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,045,383,000 after buying an additional 216,715 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. increased its position in Hershey by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 32,183 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,972,000 after purchasing an additional 3,129 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on HSY shares. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. BNP Paribas cut shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $213.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, March 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $223.33.

Hershey Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE HSY traded up $0.16 on Friday, hitting $185.02. 1,740,253 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,532,469. The company has a market cap of $37.73 billion, a PE ratio of 20.44, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.34. The Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $178.82 and a 12 month high of $276.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $192.31 and a 200-day moving average of $190.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

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

Hershey Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.97, for a total transaction of $283,455.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 29,816 shares in the company, valued at $5,634,329.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at $369,681.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.97, for a total transaction of $283,455.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 29,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,634,329.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,453 shares of company stock worth $670,244. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

About Hershey

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.