The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Purchased by Covestor Ltd

Covestor Ltd increased its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 42.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 238 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd’s holdings in Hershey were worth $40,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 66.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,571,000 after buying an additional 389,404 shares during the last quarter. Woodstock Corp lifted its position in Hershey by 34.8% during the 4th quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 6,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,168,000 after acquiring an additional 1,780 shares during the period. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter worth about $1,939,000. Ethos Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 59.8% during the fourth quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 3,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $671,000 after purchasing an additional 1,483 shares during the period. Finally, Pensionfund Sabic boosted its position in Hershey by 55.6% in the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 8,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,423,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $396,936. This trade represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $168.16 on Wednesday. The Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $140.13 and a 52-week high of $211.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $168.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $170.98. The firm has a market cap of $34.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.28.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. Equities analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Mizuho cut their price target on Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $163.05.

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.