The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Acquired by Bokf Na

Bokf Na raised its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 27.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,303 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,692 shares during the period. Bokf Na’s holdings in Hershey were worth $3,431,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Hershey by 25.3% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 85,076 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,862,000 after buying an additional 17,197 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 93.4% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 28,561 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,325,000 after purchasing an additional 13,795 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $376,000. Good Life Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Hershey by 45.4% during the fourth quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 1,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $372,000 after buying an additional 623 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its position in Hershey by 212.8% in the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 3,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $693,000 after buying an additional 2,528 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY traded up $0.84 on Monday, hitting $194.37. 134,208 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,838,509. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $190.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $192.54. The Hershey Company has a one year low of $178.82 and a one year high of $235.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.18, a PEG ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 0.36.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $3.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 50.15% and a net margin of 18.13%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.96 EPS. Research analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 54.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Argus decreased their target price on Hershey from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Barclays dropped their price target on Hershey from $210.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $204.00 to $188.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $237.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $204.89.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.54, for a total transaction of $306,810.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 37,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,614,615.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,500 shares of company stock worth $867,450. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.