3,194 Shares in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Bought by one8zero8 LLC

one8zero8 LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,194 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $541,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of HSY. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at $80,978,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Hershey by 66.7% during the 3rd 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 increased its stake in Hershey by 5.8% during the 3rd 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. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Hershey by 5.6% during 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. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Hershey by 31.3% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 586,565 shares of the company's stock valued at $112,491,000 after purchasing an additional 139,831 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $396,936. This trade represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on HSY. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $178.00 price target 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 decreased their price target for the company from $159.00 to $154.00 in a research note on Friday, February 7th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $163.75.

Hershey Price Performance

NYSE HSY traded down $3.02 on Thursday, reaching $164.33. 1,682,442 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,058,547. The Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $140.13 and a 12 month 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 0.64. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $162.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $175.37. The stock 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.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Hershey's dividend payout ratio is 50.28%.

About Hershey

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.