1,846 Shares in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Acquired by Certior Financial Group LLC

Certior Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 1,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $313,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its holdings in Hershey by 61.7% during 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on HSY shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. 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. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of 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 assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $162.50.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY stock opened at $162.12 on Monday. The Hershey Company has a one year low of $140.13 and a one year high of $211.92. The stock has a market cap of $32.81 billion, a PE ratio of 14.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $165.54 and a 200-day moving average of $172.52.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 50.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.