Signature Wealth Management Group Makes New $3.47 Million Investment in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Signature Wealth Management Group acquired a new position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 20,503 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,472,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 248.0% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 174 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 61.7% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 262 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the third quarter worth $46,000. Finally, City State Bank increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 210.0% during the fourth quarter. City State Bank now owns 310 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hershey Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE HSY traded down $3.02 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $164.33. 1,696,644 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,751,309. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $162.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $175.37. The Hershey Company has a one year low of $140.13 and a one year high of $211.92. The company has a market cap of $33.26 billion, a PE ratio of 15.08, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32.

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Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. On average, equities analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were issued 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 3.33%. Hershey's payout ratio is 50.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on HSY. Bernstein Bank reduced their price objective on Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $178.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup upgraded shares of Hershey from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $159.00 to $154.00 in a report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $163.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $41,144.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company 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.