Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. Has $1.52 Million Stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,974 shares of the company’s stock after selling 223 shares during the quarter. Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,518,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of HSY. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 248.0% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Hershey by 61.7% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 262 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HSY has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bernstein Bank decreased their price objective 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $164.67.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY stock opened at $165.09 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.42 billion, a PE ratio of 15.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $163.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $174.34. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 50.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey 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 value of $41,144.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.