The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Acquired by Lafayette Investments Inc.

Lafayette Investments Inc. increased its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 55.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,077 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,250 shares during the period. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,692,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new stake in Hershey during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its holdings in Hershey by 121.3% during the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, First Financial Corp IN acquired a new stake in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley cut Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $191.00 to $183.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Hershey from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. BNP Paribas lowered Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $223.33.

Hershey Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Hershey stock traded down $0.58 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $184.28. 543,788 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,964,726. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $192.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $191.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $37.58 billion, a PE ratio of 20.32, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.34. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $178.82 and a twelve month high of $276.88.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.72 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 51.79% and a net margin of 16.67%. The company’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.02 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This is an increase from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 40,228 shares in the company, valued at $7,961,121.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 40,228 shares in the company, valued at $7,961,121.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total value of $89,938.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $369,681.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 3,453 shares of company stock worth $670,244. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.