The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Position Boosted by Parthenon LLC

Parthenon LLC increased its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,615 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the quarter. Parthenon LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $4,169,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,337,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Hershey by 66.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,571,000 after purchasing an additional 389,404 shares in the last quarter. Woodstock Corp raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,780 shares during the period. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter worth about $1,939,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Hershey by 61.9% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 120,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,052,000 after acquiring an additional 45,936 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays reduced their target price on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $178.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Citigroup raised Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $159.00 to $154.00 in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.15.

Hershey Price Performance

NYSE HSY opened at $163.88 on Thursday. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $161.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $178.56. The firm has a market cap of $33.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 0.37. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. On average, analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.34%. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 50.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $41,144.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $396,936. This trade represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.