GAMMA Investing LLC Acquires New Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 1,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $345,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 7.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,590 shares of the company’s stock valued at $322,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 121.4% in the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,055,000 after buying an additional 5,632 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in Hershey by 7.8% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 15.7% in the third quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 1,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $337,000 after buying an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 78.8% in the third quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 14,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,938,000 after buying an additional 6,472 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.83, for a total value of $278,745.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,728 shares in the company, valued at $7,196,824.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related 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 transaction of $89,938.62. Following 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 this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.83, for a total transaction of $278,745.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,196,824.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,453 shares of company stock worth $665,534. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hershey Trading Up 0.6 %

HSY opened at $188.14 on Thursday. The Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $178.82 and a 1-year high of $276.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $38.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $191.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $190.73.

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

Hershey Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. Hershey’s payout ratio is 60.55%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $213.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Edward Jones reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, April 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $223.33.

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.