Signature Wealth Management Group Purchases 3,441 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Signature Wealth Management Group grew its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 16.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,944 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,441 shares during the period. Hershey makes up about 1.6% of Signature Wealth Management Group's portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Signature Wealth Management Group's holdings in Hershey were worth $4,095,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Montag & Caldwell LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $147.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $183.00 to $177.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Hershey from $162.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $158.84.

Hershey Stock Up 0.8%

HSY stock traded up $1.28 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $170.40. 1,553,983 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,795,003. The company has a market capitalization of $34.52 billion, a PE ratio of 15.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.29. 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 twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $208.03. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $163.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $165.62.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.15. Hershey had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. The business had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.07 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.