Pittenger & Anderson Inc. Has $2.82 Million Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. boosted its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 1,263.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,105 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,997 shares during the period. Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $2,816,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new stake in Hershey during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Hershey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Highlander Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 125.3% in the 4th quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total transaction of $89,938.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at $369,681.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total value of $89,938.62. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at $369,681.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.83, for a total value of $278,745.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,196,824.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,453 shares of company stock valued at $665,534. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on HSY shares. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Hershey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, January 29th. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $213.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $223.33.

Hershey Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of HSY stock traded down $0.99 on Thursday, hitting $187.15. The stock had a trading volume of 1,316,364 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,955,409. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $178.82 and a 12-month high of $276.88. The stock has a market cap of $38.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.34. The business has a 50 day moving average of $191.95 and a 200 day moving average of $190.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.72 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 16.67% and a return on equity of 51.79%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This is a positive change from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.55%.

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.