The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Stock Holdings Boosted by LPL Financial LLC

LPL Financial LLC grew its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 19.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 400,114 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 63,882 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $67,759,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Hershey by 63.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 45,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,747,000 after acquiring an additional 17,654 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 18,127 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,476,000 after purchasing an additional 1,877 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 86.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 7,233 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,387,000 after purchasing an additional 3,352 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Hershey during the third quarter valued at approximately $5,553,000. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Hershey by 6.0% during the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Up 1.9 %

Hershey stock opened at $168.44 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $34.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.45, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $140.13 and a 1-year high of $211.92. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $163.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $174.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on HSY. Bernstein Bank cut their price objective on Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup upgraded Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $159.00 to $154.00 in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Hershey in a report on Monday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $183.00 price target on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $162.50.

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.