The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Bought by Lifeworks Advisors LLC

Lifeworks Advisors LLC raised its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 76.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,812 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,222 shares during the period. Lifeworks Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $476,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in 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 during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Hershey by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,635,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $785,003,000 after purchasing an additional 247,675 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,753,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $717,606,000 after buying an additional 35,688 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 valued at $186,571,000 after buying an additional 389,404 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Hershey by 3.2% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 964,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $185,027,000 after buying an additional 29,507 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup raised 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, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price objective on Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.15.

Hershey Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $185.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.96. The company has a market capitalization of $37.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.98, a PEG 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 company’s fifty day moving average is $161.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $176.54.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were 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 approximately $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.