Marathon Trading Investment Management LLC Acquires New Shares in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Marathon Trading Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 5,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $931,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Hershey during the 3rd quarter worth about $719,000. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Hershey by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,316 shares of the company's stock worth $828,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 125.5% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 13,121 shares of the company's stock worth $2,516,000 after purchasing an additional 7,302 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 36,877 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,072,000 after purchasing an additional 1,223 shares during the period. Finally, Sheets Smith Wealth Management grew its stake in Hershey by 29.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 2,614 shares of the company's stock worth $501,000 after buying an additional 597 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $41,144.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Hershey Trading Down 3.7 %

Shares of NYSE HSY traded down $6.81 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $179.55. The stock had a trading volume of 2,256,049 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,811,869. The company has a market capitalization of $36.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.47, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $140.13 and a 1-year high of $211.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $162.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $176.21.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. On average, analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.05%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bernstein Bank decreased their price objective on Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Piper Sandler downgraded Hershey from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $153.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays decreased their price target on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. DA Davidson decreased their price target on Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $164.15.

About Hershey

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.