Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC Buys New Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 4,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $848,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new stake in Hershey in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. First Financial Corp IN bought a new stake in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its holdings in Hershey by 121.3% in the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HSY has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Hershey from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $213.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, BNP Paribas downgraded Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $223.81.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 40,228 shares in the company, valued at $7,961,121.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $296,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 40,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,961,121.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Charles R. Raup sold 2,065 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.85, for a total value of $396,170.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,770 shares in the company, valued at $2,833,624.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,518 shares of company stock worth $1,066,414 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $183.32 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $193.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $191.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $178.82 and a 12-month high of $276.88. The company has a market cap of $37.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.34.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $2.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.02 EPS. Hershey’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 60.55%.

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.