Wellington Wealth Strategies LLC. Acquires New Stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Wellington Wealth Strategies LLC. acquired a new position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 10,788 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,735,000. Hershey comprises about 1.6% of Wellington Wealth Strategies LLC.'s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Hershey by 31.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 12,460,147 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,110,126,000 after purchasing an additional 2,980,997 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,635,390 shares of the company's stock worth $785,003,000 after buying an additional 247,675 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,801,145 shares of the company's stock valued at $642,139,000 after buying an additional 47,394 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,578,957 shares of the company's stock valued at $267,396,000 after buying an additional 154,238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Hershey by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,282,681 shares of the company's stock worth $217,222,000 after acquiring an additional 87,498 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on HSY. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $162.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $161.40.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE HSY opened at $156.68 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $209.65. The business has a fifty day moving average of $166.08 and a 200-day moving average of $167.54. The stock has a market cap of $31.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.15. The firm 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%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.07 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Hershey's payout ratio is 67.57%.

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.

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