Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Takes Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 9,991 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,692,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 389,404 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in Hershey by 5.8% during the 3rd 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 boosted its position in Hershey by 31.3% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $841,476,000 after purchasing an additional 109,336 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 95.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 218,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,558,000 after purchasing an additional 106,450 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.15.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Up 0.4 %

HSY stock opened at $178.59 on Wednesday. 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’s 50 day moving average is $160.49 and its 200 day moving average is $177.58. The stock has a market cap of $36.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.37. The Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $140.13 and a 1-year high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

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.