GPM Growth Investors Inc. Buys New Shares in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

GPM Growth Investors Inc. purchased a new position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 17,877 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,333,000. Hershey comprises 1.6% of GPM Growth Investors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Highlander Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Hershey by 125.3% in the 4th quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Hershey during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other Hershey 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 completion of the transaction, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Hershey 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 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 $369,681.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $296,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 40,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 worth $665,534. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley downgraded Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $191.00 to $183.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. BNP Paribas cut shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Barclays increased their price objective on Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $212.78.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY traded up $3.86 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $196.33. The stock had a trading volume of 1,813,836 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,955,790. 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. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $191.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $190.64. The firm has a market cap of $40.04 billion, a PE ratio of 21.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.34.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $2.02 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect 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 dividend of $1.37 per share. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. 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.