AMI Investment Management Inc. Invests $1.53 Million in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

AMI Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 8,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,527,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 212.8% in the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 3,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $693,000 after buying an additional 2,528 shares during the period. Good Life Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 45.4% in the fourth quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 1,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $372,000 after buying an additional 623 shares during the period. Deane Retirement Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at $3,844,000. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC now owns 1,593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $899,000 after buying an additional 598 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on HSY shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $213.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, March 15th. DA Davidson started coverage on Hershey in a report on Friday, December 8th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. BNP Paribas downgraded Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $191.00 to $183.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $225.48.

Hershey Price Performance

Hershey stock opened at $194.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The company has a market capitalization of $39.68 billion, a PE ratio of 21.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.34. The Hershey Company has a one year low of $178.82 and a one year high of $276.88. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $193.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $192.80.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.72 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 51.79% and a net margin of 16.67%. The business’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.02 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This is a positive change from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 60.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total value of $89,938.62. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at $369,681.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.97, for a total transaction of $283,455.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 29,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,634,329.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total value of $89,938.62. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $369,681.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,518 shares of company stock worth $1,066,414. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.