Carret Asset Management LLC Purchases 2,100 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Carret Asset Management LLC raised its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 15.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,800 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares during the period. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $2,946,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Marshall Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Hershey by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 3,960 shares of the company’s stock valued at $792,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA raised its position in Hershey by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 754 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC raised its position in Hershey by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC now owns 14,261 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,853,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its position in Hershey by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 5,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,052,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Accurate Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Hershey by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $272,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the company’s 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 directly owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at $369,681.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the company’s 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 directly owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at $369,681.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total transaction of $296,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 40,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,961,121.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,453 shares of company stock valued at $665,534. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on HSY. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Edward Jones reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $191.00 to $183.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $223.33.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY traded up $1.06 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $188.14. 1,621,744 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,963,497. 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 50-day moving average price of $192.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $190.75. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $178.82 and a 1 year high of $276.88. The stock has a market cap of $38.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.34.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Hershey had a net margin of 16.67% and a return on equity of 51.79%. The firm had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.02 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.