First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown Increases Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown grew its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,666 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown’s holdings in Hershey were worth $311,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Hershey by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,911,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,983,427,000 after buying an additional 222,960 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Hershey by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,489,322 shares of the company’s stock worth $886,746,000 after buying an additional 290,920 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Hershey by 57.2% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,648,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $613,352,000 after purchasing an additional 964,019 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Hershey by 143.7% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,465,403 shares of the company’s stock worth $496,039,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453,819 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Hershey by 2.0% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,779,549 shares of the company’s stock worth $356,052,000 after purchasing an additional 35,393 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 40,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,961,121.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $369,681.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the 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 owns 40,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,961,121.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,453 shares of company stock valued at $670,244. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup dropped their price target on Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Barclays boosted their price target on Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley cut Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $191.00 to $183.00 in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $213.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, March 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $223.33.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY traded down $0.64 during trading on Friday, hitting $184.22. 756,632 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,967,801. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $192.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $191.07. The company has a market cap of $37.57 billion, a PE ratio of 20.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $178.82 and a 12-month high of $276.88.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly 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. Hershey had a return on equity of 51.79% and a net margin of 16.67%. The business had revenue of $2.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.02 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.97%. This is a positive change from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio 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.