2,167 Shares in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Bought by Beacon Financial Group

Beacon Financial Group acquired a new stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,167 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $367,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 30,461.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 573,643 shares of the company's stock worth $1,100,130,000 after acquiring an additional 571,766 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 worth $186,571,000 after acquiring an additional 389,404 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company's stock worth $1,348,127,000 after acquiring an additional 386,670 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 31.3% in the 3rd 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. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 2.6% in the 3rd 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. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup raised Hershey from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $159.00 to $154.00 in a report on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $178.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $164.15.

Hershey Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of Hershey stock traded down $2.82 on Friday, hitting $157.99. 1,449,913 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,139,031. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $162.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $179.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.97 billion, a PE ratio of 14.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 0.37. The Hershey Company has a one year low of $140.13 and a one year high of $211.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 EPS 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, research analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 6.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Hershey's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hershey 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.