The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Stake Increased by Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co

Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co grew its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,833 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co’s holdings in Hershey were worth $988,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of HSY. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 66.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,571,000 after purchasing an additional 389,404 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 5.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,348,127,000 after purchasing an additional 386,670 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 31.3% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 586,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,491,000 after acquiring an additional 139,831 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 2.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,387,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $841,476,000 after acquiring an additional 109,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 95.4% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 218,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,558,000 after acquiring an additional 106,450 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction of $41,144.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $396,936. This trade represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $164.15.

Hershey Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $178.59 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $36.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.38, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.37. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $160.49 and its 200-day moving average is $177.58. The Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $140.13 and a 52-week high of $211.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.96.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (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%. Equities research analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.