Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. Buys 8,500 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 94.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,480 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 8,500 shares during the quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd.'s holdings in Hershey were worth $3,237,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. purchased a new stake in Hershey in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in Hershey in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Hershey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. First Financial Corp IN purchased a new stake in Hershey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its position in Hershey by 121.3% in the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 135 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Hershey Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of HSY traded down $3.70 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $185.80. The company had a trading volume of 1,803,377 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,206,685. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $193.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $191.43. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $37.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.34. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $178.82 and a 1 year high of $276.88.

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

Hershey Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This is a boost from Hershey's previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 40,228 shares in the company, valued at $7,961,121.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at $369,681.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $296,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 40,228 shares in the company, valued at $7,961,121.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders 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 owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HSY. Barclays increased their target price on Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $213.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Citigroup cut their target price on Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Hershey from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $235.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $224.81.

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.