Madison Investment Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 98,690 The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 98,690 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,713,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at about $80,978,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 66.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,571,000 after buying an additional 389,404 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 5.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,348,127,000 after buying an additional 386,670 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,635,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $785,003,000 after buying an additional 247,675 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 31.3% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 586,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,491,000 after buying an additional 139,831 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Down 4.9 %

Shares of HSY stock opened at $170.73 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $34.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $162.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $176.17.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its 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 net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. On average, analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $178.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Bernstein Bank lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $164.15.

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.