The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Acquired by InterOcean Capital Group LLC

InterOcean Capital Group LLC grew its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 46.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,398 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 5,182 shares during the quarter. InterOcean Capital Group LLC's holdings in Hershey were worth $3,057,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in Hershey during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new stake in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Highlander Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Hershey by 125.3% during the 4th quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the topic of several analyst reports. Edward Jones reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Hershey from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $208.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Hershey from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $235.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $213.06.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY traded down $1.75 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $205.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,148,193 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,942,231. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company has a market cap of $41.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.33. The business's 50 day moving average price is $195.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $192.07. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $178.82 and a fifty-two week high of $263.90.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $3.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 50.15% and a net margin of 18.13%. The company's revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.96 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Hershey's payout ratio is presently 54.31%.

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.