Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC Grows Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 22.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,318 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,334 shares during the quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,364,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,911,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,983,427,000 after buying an additional 222,960 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 143.7% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,465,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $496,039,000 after buying an additional 1,453,819 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,779,549 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,052,000 after buying an additional 35,393 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,170,830 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,260,000 after buying an additional 8,344 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 997,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $198,085,000 after buying an additional 21,229 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays increased their price objective on Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $213.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Hershey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Edward Jones reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, April 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $223.33.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total transaction of $89,938.62. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $369,681.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.83, for a total transaction of $278,745.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 38,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,196,824.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total value of $89,938.62. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $369,681.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,453 shares of company stock valued at $665,534. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY opened at $186.23 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $191.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $190.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.98 billion, a PE ratio of 20.58, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.34. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $178.82 and a 1 year high of $276.88.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.72 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 51.79% and a net margin of 16.67%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.02 EPS. On average, analysts predict 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 given a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This is a positive change from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.55%.

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.