Boston Trust Walden Corp Grows Stock Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 15.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 105,896 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 14,424 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned approximately 0.05% of Hershey worth $19,743,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. bought a new position in Hershey during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new position in Hershey during the third quarter valued at $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. First Financial Corp IN purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 121.3% in the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 135 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on HSY shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered Hershey from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and cut their price target for the company from $191.00 to $183.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Hershey in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $213.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, BNP Paribas downgraded Hershey from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $208.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $225.48.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total transaction of $89,938.62. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,862 shares of the company's stock, valued at $369,681.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $296,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 40,228 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,961,121.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total value of $89,938.62. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $369,681.48. 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 ninety days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Hershey Trading Down 1.1 %

HSY stock traded down $2.21 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $193.74. 1,406,437 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,407,771. The Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $178.82 and a 52-week 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. The business has a 50 day moving average of $194.09 and a 200-day moving average of $192.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.34.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.07. Hershey had a return on equity of 51.79% and a net margin of 16.67%. The business had revenue of $2.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.02 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

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

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.