Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC Purchases 623 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 8.9% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 7,600 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 623 shares during the period. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,397,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in shares of Hershey by 218.2% during the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Hershey during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.93, for a total transaction of $274,395.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 35,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,535,723.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total transaction of $107,153.46. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $644,912.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.93, for a total value of $274,395.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 35,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,535,723.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,538 shares of company stock worth $667,793. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $199.85 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.86. The Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $178.82 and a 52-week high of $213.85. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $193.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $193.35. The company has a market capitalization of $40.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 0.36.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.17). Hershey had a net margin of 16.76% and a return on equity of 45.36%. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.01 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 54.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HSY. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Hershey in a research report on Monday, August 12th. They set a “sell” rating and a $185.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup cut shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $195.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Hershey from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Hershey from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $202.79.

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.