Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Has $4.15 Million Stock Holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 1,640.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,260 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,866 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $4,149,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC boosted its holdings in Hershey by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 46,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,910,000 after acquiring an additional 3,578 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp raised its position in shares of Hershey by 22.6% during the fourth quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 2,234 shares of the company’s stock worth $378,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the period. Wealthspire Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Hershey by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 5,949 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,007,000 after purchasing an additional 516 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter worth $1,692,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in Hershey by 86.4% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 12,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,200,000 after purchasing an additional 6,021 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

Hershey stock opened at $167.65 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $164.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $165.42. Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $140.13 and a 12 month high of $208.03. The company has a market cap of $33.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.67, a PEG ratio of 6.28 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.15. Hershey had a return on equity of 38.70% and a net margin of 15.32%. The company had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.07 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.57%.

Insider Activity at Hershey

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Hershey from $162.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Hershey from $147.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on Hershey from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $158.84.

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.