Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. Has $549,000 Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. raised its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 9.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,823 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 255 shares during the quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $549,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Greystone Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Hershey by 1,074.3% in the first quarter. Greystone Financial Group LLC now owns 29,815 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,799,000 after purchasing an additional 27,276 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey during the 1st quarter worth $387,000. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Hershey by 28.2% during the first quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $273,000 after acquiring an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Hershey by 13.7% in the first quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 20,831 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,052,000 after acquiring an additional 2,510 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 147.7% in the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 253,536 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,313,000 after acquiring an additional 151,199 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Hershey stock traded up $1.45 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $193.92. 3,132,628 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,972,461. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $191.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $190.66. The firm has a market cap of $39.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.34. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $178.82 and a 52 week high of $276.88.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 51.79% and a net margin of 16.67%. The company had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.02 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total transaction of $89,938.62. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at $369,681.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $369,681.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $296,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 40,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,961,121.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,453 shares of company stock valued at $665,534. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HSY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised Hershey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $212.78.

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.