Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Has $6.34 Million Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 34,011 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,264 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Hershey were worth $6,341,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Marshall Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 3,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $792,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 754 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC now owns 14,261 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,853,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 5,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,052,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Accurate Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $272,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HSY. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Hershey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley cut Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $191.00 to $183.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. Barclays raised their price target on Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Hershey from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $223.33.

Hershey Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of HSY opened at $186.16 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.57, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.97. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $191.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $190.62. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $178.82 and a 52 week high of $276.88.

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

Hershey Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a $1.37 dividend. 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 2.94%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.55%.

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.