St. James Investment Company LLC Makes New Investment in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

St. James Investment Company LLC bought a new stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 64,948 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,999,000. Hershey comprises approximately 1.9% of St. James Investment Company LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Hershey by 248.0% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its position in Hershey by 61.7% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 262 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on HSY shares. Bernstein Bank decreased their price objective on Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup raised shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $159.00 to $154.00 in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $162.50.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE:HSY opened at $169.87 on Monday. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $211.92. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $164.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $173.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.58, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its 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 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

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.