Global View Capital Management LLC Takes Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Global View Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $253,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Avestar Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Parthenon LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Parthenon LLC now owns 24,240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,649,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,151 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,563,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 5,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $921,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Waterfront Wealth Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 5,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $973,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bernstein Bank reduced their target price on Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. 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 note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.15.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY opened at $186.19 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $37.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.08, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $161.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $176.33. The Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $140.13 and a 1-year high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.