The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Purchased by Portfolio Design Labs LLC

Portfolio Design Labs LLC increased its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 23.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 11,905 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,246 shares during the period. Portfolio Design Labs LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $2,016,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HSY. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Hershey by 248.0% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Hershey by 61.7% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Hershey in the third quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, City State Bank lifted its holdings in Hershey by 210.0% in the fourth quarter. City State Bank now owns 310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on HSY shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Bernstein Bank reduced their target price on Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $165.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $41,144.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hershey Stock Up 2.5 %

HSY opened at $158.34 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a 50-day moving average of $163.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $180.11. The Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $140.13 and a 12 month high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. On average, research analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.28%.

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.