Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Purchases 95 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,994 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $676,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its position in Hershey by 248.0% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its position in Hershey by 61.7% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Hershey during the third quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, City State Bank grew its position in Hershey by 210.0% during the fourth quarter. City State Bank now owns 310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

HSY opened at $185.11 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $161.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $176.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market cap of $37.47 billion, a PE ratio of 16.98, a P/E/G 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.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.96%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on HSY. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bernstein Bank reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $153.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.