Napatree Capital LLC Purchases 87 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Napatree Capital LLC grew its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,926 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Napatree Capital LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $665,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 15.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 24,222 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,645,000 after buying an additional 3,311 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,337,000. Commerce Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 31.9% during the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 9,436 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,810,000 after buying an additional 2,281 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 73.6% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 11,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,159,000 after buying an additional 4,772 shares during the period. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 6,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,283,000 after buying an additional 533 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

HSY stock opened at $167.38 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $162.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $174.96. The stock has a market cap of $33.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.36, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $140.13 and a 1 year high of $211.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. Research analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 50.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on HSY shares. Bernstein Bank reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $178.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $163.75.

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.