Millstone Evans Group LLC Buys New Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 1,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $193,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in Hershey by 248.0% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Hershey by 61.7% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, City State Bank grew its holdings in Hershey by 210.0% during the 4th quarter. City State Bank now owns 310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $41,144.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $167.38 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $33.88 billion, a PE ratio of 15.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $211.92. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $162.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $174.96.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. Analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 50.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on HSY. Piper Sandler cut Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $153.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays dropped their target price on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Bernstein Bank decreased their price target on Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $163.75.

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.