AJOVista LLC Invests $153,000 in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

AJOVista LLC bought a new position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $153,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 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 stake in Hershey during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. First Financial Corp IN bought a new position in Hershey during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Highlander Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Hershey by 125.3% in the 4th quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Edward Jones reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $191.00 to $183.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Hershey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, BNP Paribas cut Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $212.78.

Hershey Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE:HSY traded up $2.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $197.92. 3,396,043 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,711,441. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $178.82 and a fifty-two week high of $275.89. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $40.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.87, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $191.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $190.72.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $3.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 16.67% and a return on equity of 51.79%. Hershey’s revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.96 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.77%. Hershey’s payout ratio is 60.55%.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.83, for a total value of $278,745.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 38,728 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,196,824.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.