Wealthcare Capital Partners LLC Makes New Investment in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Wealthcare Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 1,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $242,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its holdings in Hershey by 23.3% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 333 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP raised its holdings in Hershey by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 4,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $792,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC raised its holdings in Hershey by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital raised its holdings in Hershey by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $257,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Wealth Management raised its holdings in Hershey by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 6,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,152,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup upgraded Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $159.00 to $154.00 in a report on Friday. UBS Group dropped their target price on Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. 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 report on Thursday, January 16th. Bernstein Bank lowered their price target on Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $165.05.

Hershey Stock Down 0.3 %

HSY stock opened at $154.52 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.27 billion, a PE ratio of 14.18, a PEG ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 0.37. The Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $140.13 and a 1-year high of $211.92. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $164.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $180.38.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 6.77 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.55%. Hershey’s payout ratio is 50.28%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.