Jones Financial Companies Lllp Raises Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 20.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,403 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,118 shares during the quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in Hershey were worth $2,100,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,571,000 after purchasing an additional 389,404 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in 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 during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position 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 valued at $112,491,000 after acquiring an additional 139,831 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake 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 valued at $841,476,000 after acquiring an additional 109,336 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $18,273,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the business’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 value of $41,144.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now 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 accessible through this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hershey Price Performance

HSY stock opened at $179.87 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market capitalization of $36.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.50, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $161.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $176.78. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $159.00 to $154.00 in a report on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $164.15.

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.