Anchor Capital Advisors LLC Has $39.94 Million Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Anchor Capital Advisors LLC lowered its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 214,238 shares of the company’s stock after selling 522 shares during the period. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Hershey worth $39,943,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Highlander Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Hershey by 125.3% during the 4th quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Up 3.4 %

Shares of HSY traded up $6.31 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $192.47. 2,960,036 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,958,285. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $178.82 and a fifty-two week high of $276.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The business has a 50-day moving average of $191.74 and a 200-day moving average of $190.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.34.

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

Hershey Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were 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 directly owns 40,228 shares in the company, valued at $7,961,121.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $296,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 40,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,961,121.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total transaction of $89,938.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at $369,681.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,453 shares of company stock worth $665,534. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $213.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, March 15th. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Hershey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $212.78.

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.