Schear Investment Advisers LLC Sells 272 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Schear Investment Advisers LLC trimmed its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 11.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,031 shares of the company’s stock after selling 272 shares during the period. Schear Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $379,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of HSY. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Hershey by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,911,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,983,427,000 after acquiring an additional 222,960 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Hershey by 9.1% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,489,322 shares of the company’s stock worth $886,746,000 after purchasing an additional 290,920 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Hershey by 57.2% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,648,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $613,352,000 after buying an additional 964,019 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 143.7% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,465,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $496,039,000 after buying an additional 1,453,819 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,779,549 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,052,000 after buying an additional 35,393 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 40,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,961,121.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $296,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 40,228 shares in the company, valued at $7,961,121.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated 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 $369,681.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 3,453 shares of company stock valued at $670,244. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY traded down $0.68 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $184.18. The stock had a trading volume of 1,050,221 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,971,620. The company has a market capitalization of $37.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.34. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $178.82 and a 12-month high of $276.88. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $192.52 and a 200-day moving average of $191.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.72 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 16.67% and a return on equity of 51.79%. Hershey’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.02 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Hershey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Barclays upped their price target on Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. BNP Paribas cut 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. Finally, Edward Jones reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $223.33.

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.