Allstate Corp bought a new stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 4,471 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $757,000.
A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of HSY. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 248.0% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 174 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of Hershey by 61.7% during the 4th 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 period. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of research analysts recently issued reports on HSY shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price 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. 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. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays decreased their target price on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price target on Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $162.50.
View Our Latest Report on Hershey
Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey
In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were 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 represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Hershey Stock Down 2.8 %
NYSE:HSY traded down $4.71 on Friday, hitting $162.12. The stock had a trading volume of 2,504,452 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,793,517. 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 $165.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $172.69. 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 stock has a market cap of $32.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32.
Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 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 predict 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 was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.38%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.28%.
About Hershey
(
Free Report)
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.
Featured Stories
Before you consider Hershey, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Hershey wasn't on the list.
While Hershey currently has a Reduce rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Like this article? Share it with a colleague.
Link copied to clipboard.
