Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA Boosts Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA raised its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 11.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 11,900 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,211 shares during the period. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA’s holdings in Hershey were worth $2,303,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the third quarter valued at $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. First Financial Corp IN purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Highlander Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 125.3% in the fourth quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on HSY. Edward Jones restated a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Hershey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut shares of Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $191.00 to $183.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $223.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total value of $89,938.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $369,681.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $296,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 40,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,961,121.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total value of $89,938.62. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $369,681.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of Hershey stock traded up $0.77 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $187.10. The company had a trading volume of 661,535 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,959,176. The stock has a market cap of $38.16 billion, a PE ratio of 20.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.34. The Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $178.82 and a 1-year high of $276.88. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $192.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $190.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.72 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 51.79% and a net margin of 16.67%. Hershey’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.02 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.55%.

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.