Occidental Asset Management LLC Cuts Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Occidental Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,923 shares of the company’s stock after selling 102 shares during the period. Occidental Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $359,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new position in Hershey in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its stake in Hershey by 121.3% in the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the third quarter worth $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Up 0.4 %

HSY traded up $0.79 on Friday, hitting $194.50. The company had a trading volume of 1,585,082 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,635,467. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $178.82 and a 52-week high of $276.88. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $193.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $192.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.34.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.07. Hershey had a net margin of 16.67% and a return on equity of 51.79%. The business had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.72 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.02 earnings per share. Hershey’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This is a positive change from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HSY has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley downgraded Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $191.00 to $183.00 in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $213.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, March 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on Hershey in a research report on Friday, December 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BNP Paribas downgraded Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $225.48.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 transaction of $89,938.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at $369,681.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.97, for a total value of $283,455.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 29,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,634,329.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total transaction of $89,938.62. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $369,681.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,518 shares of company stock worth $1,066,414 over the last three months. Company 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.