The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) is DRH Investments Inc.’s 9th Largest Position

DRH Investments Inc. lowered its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 48,722 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,823 shares during the period. Hershey makes up about 9.5% of DRH Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. DRH Investments Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $8,251,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in Hershey by 42.5% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 238 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 30,561 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,176,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 24.4% during the fourth quarter. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC now owns 17,860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,025,000 after purchasing an additional 3,505 shares in the last quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at about $52,000. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in Hershey by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 19,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,350,000 after purchasing an additional 885 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $178.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. DA Davidson decreased their price target on Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $162.50.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE HSY opened at $164.23 on Friday. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $33.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.07, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.28. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $166.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $171.47.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.28%.

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.