Advisory Services Network LLC Boosts Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Advisory Services Network LLC raised its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 27.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,335 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,537 shares during the quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $3,978,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at about $349,448,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 143.7% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,465,403 shares of the company’s stock worth $496,039,000 after buying an additional 1,453,819 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 18,495.8% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 295,673 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,125,000 after buying an additional 294,083 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,911,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,983,427,000 after buying an additional 222,960 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the third quarter worth about $33,672,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Edward Jones restated a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, April 19th. BNP Paribas downgraded Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley downgraded Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $191.00 to $183.00 in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Hershey from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Hershey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $213.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.83, for a total value of $278,745.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,728 shares in the company, valued at $7,196,824.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders sold 4,500 shares of company stock worth $882,405. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of Hershey stock traded down $4.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $197.00. 1,880,152 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,852,444. The business has a 50-day moving average of $195.69 and a 200 day moving average of $192.32. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $178.82 and a fifty-two week high of $263.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.84 billion, a PE ratio of 19.52, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $3.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 50.15% and a net margin of 18.13%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.96 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.78%. Hershey’s payout ratio is 54.31%.

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.