CWA Asset Management Group LLC Has $492,000 Stock Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY – Get Rating) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,123 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $492,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dupont Capital Management Corp raised its position in shares of Hershey by 26.3% in the third quarter. Dupont Capital Management Corp now owns 5,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,314,000 after purchasing an additional 1,241 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its position in shares of Hershey by 1.2% in the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 83,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,490,000 after purchasing an additional 997 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in Hershey by 0.8% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 76,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,906,000 after acquiring an additional 614 shares during the period. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Hershey by 6.1% during the third quarter. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $289,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC bought a new position in Hershey during the third quarter worth $202,000. Institutional investors own 54.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on HSY shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Hershey from $236.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 6th. Credit Suisse Group boosted their target price on shares of Hershey from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. UBS Group raised shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $244.00 to $269.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Hershey from $231.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $245.23.

Hershey Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $243.15 on Friday. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $201.42 and a 52 week high of $247.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company’s fifty day moving average is $232.96 and its 200-day moving average is $230.21. The company has a market capitalization of $49.61 billion, a PE ratio of 30.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.31.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 17th were paid a $1.036 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 16th. This represents a $4.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.70%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.01%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Charles R. Raup sold 1,512 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.38, for a total transaction of $357,406.56. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,241,478.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Pamela M. Arway sold 211 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.97, for a total transaction of $47,679.67. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,561 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,516,319.17. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Charles R. Raup sold 1,512 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.38, for a total transaction of $357,406.56. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,241,478.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 48,727 shares of company stock worth $11,522,062. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

About Hershey

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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.