Macquarie Group Ltd. Increases Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Macquarie Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY – Get Rating) by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,762 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the period. Macquarie Group Ltd.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $2,152,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Hershey during the third quarter valued at $415,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Hershey during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its holdings in Hershey by 121.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new position in Hershey during the second quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, American National Bank lifted its holdings in Hershey by 359.3% during the third quarter. American National Bank now owns 248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. 54.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jason Reiman sold 150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.83, for a total value of $35,224.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,986,333.11. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Robert Malcolm sold 2,200 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.24, for a total value of $521,928.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,779 shares in the company, valued at $3,031,689.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jason Reiman sold 150 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.83, for a total transaction of $35,224.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,986,333.11. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 36,126 shares of company stock valued at $8,476,159. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hershey Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of HSY stock opened at $238.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market cap of $48.69 billion, a PE ratio of 29.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a 50-day moving average of $231.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $229.73. The Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $201.42 and a 1-year high of $244.38.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 15.79% and a return on equity of 57.76%. Hershey’s revenue was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.69 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 9.39 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 17th will be paid a $1.036 dividend. This represents a $4.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 52.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Hershey from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Hershey from $236.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 2nd. Exane BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Hershey in a research report on Tuesday, November 15th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $235.00 target price for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Hershey from $255.00 to $277.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $245.23.

Hershey Profile

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The Hershey Co engages in the manufacture and marketing of chocolate, sweets, mints and confectionery products. The firm operates through the following geographical segments: North America and International and Other. The North America is responsible for the traditional chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery market position of the company, as well as its grocery and snacks market positions, in the United States and Canada.