482 Shares in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Acquired by Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC

Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 482 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $82,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Hershey by 5.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,348,127,000 after purchasing an additional 386,670 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,635,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $785,003,000 after acquiring an additional 247,675 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Hershey by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,753,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $717,606,000 after acquiring an additional 35,688 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew 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 valued at $186,571,000 after acquiring an additional 389,404 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Hershey by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 964,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $185,027,000 after acquiring an additional 29,507 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $163.75.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $170.51 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $162.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $175.60. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $34.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.64, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

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

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.