Sound Income Strategies LLC Has $119,000 Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 12.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 696 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $119,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp boosted its position in Hershey by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $762,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 2.6% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,768 shares of the company’s stock valued at $473,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A now owns 3,240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 5,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $939,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 42.5% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 238 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hershey Trading Up 0.8%

HSY stock opened at $170.40 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $34.52 billion, a PE ratio of 15.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.29. The Hershey Company has a one year low of $140.13 and a one year high of $208.03. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $164.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $165.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.96.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.81 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. The business’s revenue was down 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.07 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 67.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Michele Buck sold 31,210 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.80, for a total value of $5,018,568.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 193,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,134,739.20. The trade was a 13.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.11, for a total transaction of $153,025.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $470,387.34. The trade was a 24.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HSY has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Hershey from $147.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $167.00 to $155.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $178.00 to $175.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $158.84.

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.