767 Shares in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Purchased by Capital Analysts LLC

Capital Analysts LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $143,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its position in Hershey by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $403,000 after buying an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management raised its holdings in Hershey by 574.9% during the 4th quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 15,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,930,000 after purchasing an additional 13,389 shares during the last quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in Hershey by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 9,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,680,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors raised its holdings in Hershey by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 2,078 shares of the company’s stock worth $387,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Hershey during the 4th quarter worth about $848,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.97, for a total value of $283,455.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 29,816 shares in the company, valued at $5,634,329.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total value of $89,938.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $369,681.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.97, for a total transaction of $283,455.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 29,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,634,329.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,453 shares of company stock worth $670,244 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY stock opened at $184.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $37.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.34. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $192.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $191.07. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $178.82 and a 52 week high of $276.88.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.07. Hershey had a net margin of 16.67% and a return on equity of 51.79%. The firm had revenue of $2.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.72 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.02 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This is an increase from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.96%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. BNP Paribas cut Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley cut Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $191.00 to $183.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $223.33.

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.