Napatree Capital LLC Purchases 87 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Napatree Capital LLC grew its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,926 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the quarter. Napatree Capital LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $665,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Stevens Capital Management LP bought a new position in Hershey during the fourth quarter worth $449,000. LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 19.0% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 400,114 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,759,000 after acquiring an additional 63,882 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Hershey during the fourth quarter worth $21,439,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Hershey by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 711,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $120,409,000 after acquiring an additional 93,009 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 46.2% during the fourth quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 14,002 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,371,000 after acquiring an additional 4,426 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE HSY opened at $167.38 on Friday. The Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $140.13 and a 52-week high of $211.92. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $162.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $174.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.96. The company has a market capitalization 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.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. On average, research analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on HSY shares. Bernstein Bank cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $153.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $163.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at $396,936. This trade represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.