Inkwell Capital LLC Takes $2.39 Million Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Inkwell Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 14,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,387,000. Hershey accounts for 2.6% of Inkwell Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 2.5% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 51,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,832,000 after purchasing an additional 1,241 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in Hershey by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 6,470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,241,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.7% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 36,205 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,943,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC increased its position in shares of Hershey by 3.3% during the third quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC now owns 20,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,925,000 after acquiring an additional 655 shares during the period. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the third quarter valued at $385,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on HSY shares. Citigroup raised Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $159.00 to $154.00 in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Bernstein Bank dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Hershey in a research report on Monday, March 24th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $183.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target on Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $162.50.

Hershey Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $169.87 on Friday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $164.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $173.84. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 week high of $211.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.23%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $41,144.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at $396,936. This represents 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 through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.