Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc. Has $4.78 Million Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 28,194 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 491 shares during the quarter. Hershey accounts for approximately 1.6% of Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position. Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $4,775,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 23.3% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.6% in the third quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 4,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $792,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 6.0% in the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Northstar Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 3.3% in the third quarter. Northstar Group Inc. now owns 2,239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $429,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 5.7% in the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $257,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were 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 represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on HSY shares. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $167.10.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE HSY opened at $152.43 on Friday. 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 0.76, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market cap of $30.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.56, a PEG ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $165.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $180.97.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a net margin of 16.17% and a return on equity of 43.24%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 9.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.60%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.13%.

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.