Simplicity Solutions LLC Has $341,000 Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Simplicity Solutions LLC reduced its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 54.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,828 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,222 shares during the period. Simplicity Solutions LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $341,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,027 shares of the company’s stock valued at $378,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at $167,000. Costello Asset Management INC increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 120.0% in the fourth quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cassia Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Cassia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,843 shares of the company’s stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HSY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $213.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of 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 research report on Monday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $223.33.

Hershey Stock Up 0.1 %

HSY stock opened at $185.02 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $192.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $190.97. 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 has a market capitalization of $37.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.34.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.07. Hershey had a return on equity of 51.79% and a net margin of 16.67%. The company had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.02 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.96%. This is an increase from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.55%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.97, for a total value of $283,455.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 29,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,634,329.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total transaction of $89,938.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $369,681.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.97, for a total transaction of $283,455.00. Following 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,453 shares of company stock valued at $670,244 over the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hershey 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.