1,701 Shares in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Purchased by PVG Asset Management Corp

PVG Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,701 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $288,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in Hershey by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 74,276 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,579,000 after buying an additional 8,369 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP increased its stake in Hershey by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 4,568 shares of the company's stock worth $774,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. Amiral Gestion acquired a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,190,000. Peak Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter worth $807,000. Finally, Auxier Asset Management increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Auxier Asset Management now owns 12,885 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,182,000 after purchasing an additional 1,775 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays upped their target price on Hershey from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $178.00 to $175.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $173.00 to $165.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Bernstein Bank decreased their target price on Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $162.15.

Hershey Trading Up 0.1%

HSY stock traded up $0.10 during trading on Friday, reaching $161.42. The company had a trading volume of 676,587 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,785,952. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 week high of $208.03. The business has a 50 day moving average of $164.04 and a 200 day moving average of $166.51. The company has a market cap of $32.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.79, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.07 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Hershey's dividend payout ratio is presently 67.57%.

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.