Wellington Wealth Strategies LLC. Makes New Investment in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Wellington Wealth Strategies LLC. purchased a new stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 10,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,735,000. Hershey makes up 1.6% of Wellington Wealth Strategies LLC.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Hershey by 31.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 12,460,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,110,126,000 after purchasing an additional 2,980,997 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Hershey by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,635,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $785,003,000 after purchasing an additional 247,675 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,801,145 shares of the company’s stock valued at $642,139,000 after purchasing an additional 47,394 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,578,957 shares of the company’s stock valued at $267,396,000 after purchasing an additional 154,238 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,282,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,222,000 after buying an additional 87,498 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Down 1.1%

HSY stock opened at $156.68 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $31.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.37, a PEG 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 $209.65. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $166.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $167.54. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.81 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.07 EPS. Research analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on HSY. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Hershey from $147.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. DA Davidson upped their price target on Hershey from $162.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Hershey from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $161.40.

About Hershey

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.