NBC Securities Inc. Increases Stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

NBC Securities Inc. grew its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 113,833.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,418 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,415 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc.'s holdings in Hershey were worth $584,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter worth $1,939,000. Ethos Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 59.8% in the 4th quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 3,962 shares of the company's stock worth $671,000 after purchasing an additional 1,483 shares during the period. DJE Kapital AG bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,040,000. Old North State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $513,000. Finally, Beacon Financial Group purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $367,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CEO Michele Buck sold 31,210 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.80, for a total transaction of $5,018,568.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 193,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,134,739.20. The trade was a 13.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.11, for a total transaction of $153,025.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $470,387.34. This represents a 24.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Hershey from $183.00 to $177.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Hershey from $147.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Hershey from $173.00 to $165.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $158.84.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY stock traded down $0.95 on Friday, hitting $161.83. The company had a trading volume of 1,112,186 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,779,146. 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 Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $208.03. The stock has a market cap of $32.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.85, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.29. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $163.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $165.98.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.81 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. Hershey's revenue for the quarter was down 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.07 earnings per share. 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.39%. Hershey's payout ratio is presently 67.57%.

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.