AFT Forsyth & Company Inc. Has $351,000 Stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

AFT Forsyth & Company Inc. raised its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 17.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,072 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 307 shares during the quarter. AFT Forsyth & Company Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $351,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in Hershey by 248.0% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its position in Hershey by 61.7% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the third quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, City State Bank raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 210.0% in the fourth quarter. City State Bank now owns 310 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $41,144.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $396,936. This trade represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bernstein Bank dropped their target price on Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. DA Davidson decreased their price target on Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.15.

Hershey Trading Down 0.1 %

HSY opened at $158.13 on Thursday. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $211.92. The firm has a market cap of $32.00 billion, a PE ratio of 14.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.96. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $163.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $179.86.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 6.77 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.47%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.28%.

About Hershey

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.