Coston McIsaac & Partners Buys 1,236 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Coston McIsaac & Partners boosted its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 7.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,704 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares during the period. Coston McIsaac & Partners’ holdings in Hershey were worth $3,637,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. First Financial Corp IN bought a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Hershey in the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Highlander Capital Management LLC raised its position in 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. bought a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.93, for a total transaction of $274,395.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 35,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,535,723.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,500 shares of company stock valued at $859,950. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on HSY. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 21st. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $213.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $209.67.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY traded up $0.15 on Friday, reaching $183.83. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,542,376 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,450,476. The Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $178.82 and a 52-week high of $251.73. The company has a market cap of $37.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.22, a PEG ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $194.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $192.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.33. Hershey had a net margin of 18.13% and a return on equity of 50.15%. The business had revenue of $3.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.11 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.96 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.31%.

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.