SlateStone Wealth LLC Buys 701 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

SlateStone Wealth LLC grew its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 11.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,881 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 701 shares during the period. SlateStone Wealth LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,165,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Signature Wealth Management Group bought a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,472,000. Glenview Trust co raised its position in Hershey by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 4,739 shares of the company’s stock worth $803,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its position in Hershey by 36.7% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 17,235 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,919,000 after acquiring an additional 4,630 shares during the period. Pollock Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth approximately $974,000. Finally, one8zero8 LLC bought a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth approximately $541,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE:HSY opened at $170.32 on Monday. 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 quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market cap of $34.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.63, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $162.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $175.74.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of Hershey 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on HSY shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup raised shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $159.00 to $154.00 in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price objective 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $163.75.

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.