The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Acquired by Private Advisor Group LLC

Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 70.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 46,144 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,038 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $7,815,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Hershey by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,348,127,000 after buying an additional 386,670 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Hershey by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,387,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $841,476,000 after buying an additional 109,336 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Hershey by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,753,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $717,606,000 after buying an additional 35,688 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Hershey by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,571,000 after buying an additional 389,404 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in Hershey by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 964,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $185,027,000 after buying an additional 29,507 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $396,936. This trade represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Bernstein Bank lowered their target price on Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays lowered their target price on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $159.00 to $154.00 in a report on Friday, February 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.15.

Hershey Trading Up 4.2 %

NYSE:HSY opened at $173.03 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $160.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $178.37. 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 Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $140.13 and a 12 month high of $211.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.01 billion, a PE ratio of 15.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.82 and a beta of 0.37.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.28%.

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.