Select Asset Management & Trust Raises Stock Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Select Asset Management & Trust increased its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 252.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,403 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,153 shares during the period. Select Asset Management & Trust's holdings in Hershey were worth $746,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 66.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company's stock worth $186,571,000 after buying an additional 389,404 shares during the last quarter. Woodstock Corp increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 34.8% during the 4th quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 6,896 shares of the company's stock worth $1,168,000 after purchasing an additional 1,780 shares during the last quarter. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,939,000. Ethos Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Hershey by 59.8% in the fourth quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 3,962 shares of the company's stock valued at $671,000 after purchasing an additional 1,483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pensionfund Sabic grew its holdings in Hershey by 55.6% during the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 8,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,423,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hershey Price Performance

HSY stock traded down $0.81 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $163.18. The company had a trading volume of 981,800 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,780,814. The company has a market capitalization of $33.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.97, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $140.13 and a 1 year high of $211.92. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $169.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $169.73.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. Hershey's payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on HSY shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Hershey from $183.00 to $177.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $163.35.

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.