The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Purchased by TRUE Private Wealth Advisors

TRUE Private Wealth Advisors boosted its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 46.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,904 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 603 shares during the quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Hershey were worth $355,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PFS Investments Inc. raised its stake in Hershey by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. PFS Investments Inc. now owns 1,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Cassia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 3.2% in the third quarter. Cassia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $335,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.4% in the third quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 3,960 shares of the company’s stock valued at $792,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA lifted its stake in Hershey by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC lifted its stake in Hershey by 0.4% during the third quarter. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC now owns 14,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,853,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $369,681.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $369,681.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $296,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 40,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,961,121.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,518 shares of company stock worth $1,066,414. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $182.45 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $37.21 billion, a PE ratio of 20.16, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.34. The Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $178.82 and a 12 month high of $276.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $192.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $191.11.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.02 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 60.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on HSY shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Hershey from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley cut Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $191.00 to $183.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Hershey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $223.33.

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.