Private Advisor Group LLC Increases Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 70.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 46,144 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,038 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $7,815,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Hershey by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,240 shares of the company’s stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at about $221,000. Callahan Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at about $300,000. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund increased its holdings in Hershey by 21.3% in the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 5,305 shares of the company’s stock valued at $898,000 after buying an additional 933 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valley Wealth Managers Inc. increased its holdings in Hershey by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 2,219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $376,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on HSY shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Bernstein Bank lowered their price objective on Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Thursday, December 12th. 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. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $164.15.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY stock opened at $173.03 on Friday. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $211.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.82 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $160.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $178.37. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, equities research analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be given 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 3.17%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value 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 $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.