Achmea Investment Management B.V. Raises Stock Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Achmea Investment Management B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 7.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,493 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,344 shares during the quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $3,301,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in Hershey by 248.0% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in Hershey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its position in Hershey by 61.7% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 262 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Hershey in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $41,144.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HSY has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bernstein Bank dropped their target price on Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays dropped their target price on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $159.00 to $154.00 in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $163.75.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of HSY stock opened at $170.32 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $34.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.63, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The business’s fifty day moving average is $162.15 and its 200 day moving average is $175.96. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $211.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. Research analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

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.