Cerity Partners LLC Grows Stock Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 64.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,086 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 8,249 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Hershey were worth $3,931,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. purchased a new position in Hershey in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new position in Hershey in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, First Financial Corp IN purchased a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY traded up $2.41 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $184.86. 1,402,890 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,984,353. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $178.82 and a 12-month high of $276.88. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $192.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $191.11.

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

Hershey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.96%. This is a positive change from Hershey's previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. Hershey's dividend payout ratio is presently 60.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.97, for a total value of $283,455.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 29,816 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,634,329.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $396,170.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,770 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,833,624.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.97, for a total transaction of $283,455.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 29,816 shares in the company, valued at $5,634,329.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 5,518 shares of company stock valued at $1,066,414. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered Hershey from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $191.00 to $183.00 in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Hershey from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $235.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, January 29th. BNP Paribas lowered Hershey from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $208.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $213.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Hershey from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $223.33.

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.