The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Acquired by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 12.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,003,258 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 114,329 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 0.50% of Hershey worth $169,895,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Montag & Caldwell LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 248.0% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 174 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was 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 approximately $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hershey Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:HSY traded down $0.81 during trading on Friday, hitting $163.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 981,800 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,783,201. The company has a market capitalization of $33.03 billion, a PE ratio of 14.97, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.28. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92. 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's 50-day moving average price is $169.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $169.61.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Hershey's payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on HSY shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $159.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Hershey from $173.00 to $165.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $163.35.

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.