The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Stock Position Lessened by Schear Investment Advisers LLC

Schear Investment Advisers LLC reduced its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 11.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,031 shares of the company’s stock after selling 272 shares during the quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $379,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of HSY. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at $411,828,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised 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 during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 2,693.0% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,094,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,156,000 after purchasing an additional 1,055,559 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 57.2% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,648,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $613,352,000 after purchasing an additional 964,019 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Hershey by 36.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,378,426 shares of the company’s stock worth $319,202,000 after purchasing an additional 369,940 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

HSY stock traded down $0.68 during trading on Friday, hitting $184.18. 1,050,221 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,971,620. 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 stock has a market cap of $37.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.34. The Hershey Company has a one year low of $178.82 and a one year high of $276.88. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $192.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $191.07.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its 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 the consensus estimate of $2.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.02 EPS. Hershey’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This is an increase from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 60.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on HSY. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Hershey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, January 29th. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $191.00 to $183.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $213.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $223.33.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.97, for a total value of $283,455.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 29,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,634,329.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.97, for a total transaction of $283,455.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 29,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,634,329.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $369,681.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 3,453 shares of company stock worth $670,244. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.