Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC Grows Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC increased its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 22.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,318 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,334 shares during the quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,364,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 2,339 shares of the company’s stock valued at $436,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. Semanteon Capital Management LP bought a new position in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $651,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its position in Hershey by 204.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 15,736 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,934,000 after buying an additional 10,559 shares in the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC bought a new position in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $566,000. Finally, Meritage Portfolio Management increased its position in Hershey by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 47,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,887,000 after buying an additional 3,430 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In related 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 value of $296,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 40,228 shares in the company, valued at $7,961,121.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at $369,681.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 value of $296,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 40,228 shares in the company, valued at $7,961,121.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,453 shares of company stock valued at $665,534 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE:HSY opened at $186.23 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $191.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $190.64. The Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $178.82 and a 52-week high of $276.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.98 billion, a PE ratio of 20.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.34.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.72 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 51.79% and a net margin of 16.67%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.02 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $1.37 dividend. This is a positive change from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 60.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $191.00 to $183.00 in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Hershey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Barclays boosted their price target on Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Hershey from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $223.33.

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.