By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY – Free Report) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 107,902 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,273,000.
Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the third quarter valued at $1,337,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 66.7% in the third 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 period. Woodstock Corp raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 34.8% in the fourth quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 6,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,168,000 after buying an additional 1,780 shares during the period. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at $1,939,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 61.9% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 120,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,052,000 after purchasing an additional 45,936 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Bernstein Bank decreased their price objective on Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $159.00 to $154.00 in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $163.75.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on HSY
Hershey Price Performance
HSY opened at $170.32 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $162.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $175.96. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $211.92. 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 has a market capitalization of $34.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.63, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32.
Hershey (NYSE:HSY – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts predict 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 was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors 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 3.22%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.28%.
Insider Activity at Hershey
In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.29% 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.
Further Reading
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding HSY? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY – Free Report).
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