Gen Wealth Partners Inc Purchases 822 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Gen Wealth Partners Inc raised its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 28.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,714 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 822 shares during the quarter. Gen Wealth Partners Inc’s holdings in Hershey were worth $629,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors raised its position in Hershey by 31.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 12,460,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,110,126,000 after purchasing an additional 2,980,997 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,635,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $785,003,000 after acquiring an additional 247,675 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Hershey by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,801,145 shares of the company’s stock worth $642,139,000 after acquiring an additional 47,394 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Hershey by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,578,957 shares of the company’s stock worth $267,396,000 after acquiring an additional 154,238 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Hershey by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,282,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,222,000 after acquiring an additional 87,498 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on HSY. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $183.00 to $177.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Bernstein Bank lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Hershey from $147.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Mizuho lowered their target price on Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $161.40.

Hershey Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:HSY opened at $171.00 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $34.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.69, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $168.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $168.48. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 week high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.81 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.07 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.57%.

Hershey Company 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.