Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC Raises Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,039 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $684,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Hershey by 248.0% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Hershey in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Hershey by 61.7% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 262 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $164.15.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $185.11 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $37.47 billion, a PE ratio of 16.98, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $161.48 and a 200 day moving average of $176.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.96. The Hershey Company has a one year low of $140.13 and a one year high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. As a group, research analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 50.28%.

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.