1,430 Shares in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Acquired by Wealthcare Capital Partners LLC

Wealthcare Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $242,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Hershey by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,348,127,000 after purchasing an additional 386,670 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,387,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $841,476,000 after purchasing an additional 109,336 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Hershey by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,753,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $717,606,000 after purchasing an additional 35,688 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 66.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,571,000 after buying an additional 389,404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 964,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $185,027,000 after buying an additional 29,507 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $41,144.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bernstein Bank lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $165.05.

Hershey Price Performance

HSY opened at $154.52 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $164.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $180.38. 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 Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $140.13 and a 1 year high of $211.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.27 billion, a PE ratio of 14.18, a P/E/G ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 0.37.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (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, sell-side analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 6.77 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.55%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.