Van ECK Associates Corp Buys 2,041 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 8.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,389 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,041 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Hershey were worth $4,734,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the third quarter worth $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. First Financial Corp IN purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Highlander Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 125.3% in the fourth quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.83, for a total value of $278,745.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 38,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,196,824.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $213.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, March 15th. BNP Paribas downgraded Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Hershey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $212.78.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $197.92 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $191.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $190.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.62, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.33. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $178.82 and a 52 week high of $275.89.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.33. Hershey had a return on equity of 51.79% and a net margin of 16.67%. The company had revenue of $3.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.31%.

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.