Reliant Investment Management LLC Takes Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Reliant Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 22,380 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,173,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Hershey by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,911,173 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,983,427,000 after purchasing an additional 222,960 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,144,337 shares of the company's stock worth $1,783,941,000 after acquiring an additional 111,357 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,489,322 shares of the company's stock worth $886,746,000 after acquiring an additional 290,920 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Hershey by 57.2% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,648,666 shares of the company's stock worth $613,352,000 after purchasing an additional 964,019 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Hershey by 143.7% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,465,403 shares of the company's stock worth $496,039,000 after acquiring an additional 1,453,819 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Charles R. Raup sold 2,065 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.85, for a total value of $396,170.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,770 shares in the company, valued at $2,833,624.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total value of $89,938.62. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at $369,681.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Charles R. Raup sold 2,065 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.85, for a total transaction of $396,170.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,770 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,833,624.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,518 shares of company stock worth $1,066,414 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY traded down $2.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $193.74. The stock had a trading volume of 1,407,317 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,045,987. The company has a 50 day moving average of $194.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $192.33. The firm has a market cap of $39.51 billion, a PE ratio of 21.41, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.34. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $178.82 and a twelve month high of $276.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.07. Hershey had a net margin of 16.67% and a return on equity of 51.79%. The firm had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 9.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. This is a positive change from Hershey's previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on HSY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. BNP Paribas cut Hershey from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $208.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. DA Davidson began coverage on Hershey in a report on Friday, December 8th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $205.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $213.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, March 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $225.48.

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.