Global Retirement Partners LLC Acquires 107 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,240 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $379,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Hershey by 248.0% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 61.7% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the third quarter worth $46,000. Finally, City State Bank raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 210.0% during the fourth quarter. City State Bank now owns 310 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $41,144.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of HSY opened at $173.03 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $160.47 and a 200-day moving average of $177.91. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $140.13 and a 1 year high of $211.92. The company has a market capitalization of $35.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on HSY shares. DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Mizuho dropped their target price on Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.15.

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.