First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Has $956,000 Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,125 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 176 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $956,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA lifted its stake in Hershey by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its stake in Hershey by 1.1% in the third quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 5,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,052,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 5,839 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,089,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,138 shares of the company’s stock worth $212,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $296,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 40,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,961,121.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Edward Jones reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, April 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $213.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, March 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $212.78.

Hershey Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $197.92 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.87, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.33. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $191.85 and its 200 day moving average is $190.72. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $178.82 and a 52 week high of $275.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its 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. Hershey had a net margin of 16.67% and a return on equity of 51.79%. The firm had revenue of $3.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.96 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.