First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. Makes New Investment in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 24,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,540,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 7.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 121.4% during the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,270 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,055,000 after purchasing an additional 5,632 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 7.8% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,126 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 15.7% during the third quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 1,684 shares of the company’s stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 78.8% during the third quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 14,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,938,000 after purchasing an additional 6,472 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hershey Stock Down 0.5 %

HSY opened at $186.23 on Friday. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $178.82 and a fifty-two week high of $276.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $191.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $190.64. The company has a market capitalization of $37.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.34.

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

Hershey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 60.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Hershey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $213.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, March 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Edward Jones reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. One equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $223.33.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.83, for a total value of $278,745.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,196,824.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.83, for a total transaction of $278,745.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,196,824.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $369,681.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,453 shares of company stock valued at $665,534 over the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hershey 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.