Inkwell Capital LLC Purchases New Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Inkwell Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 14,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,387,000. Hershey makes up approximately 2.6% of Inkwell Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 248.0% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Hershey by 61.7% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 262 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares in the company, 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 hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on HSY shares. Barclays dropped their price target on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Bernstein Bank reduced their price target on Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Hershey in a research note on Monday, March 24th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $183.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup raised Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $159.00 to $154.00 in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $162.50.

Hershey Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $169.87 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $164.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $173.84. The Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $140.13 and a 52-week high of $211.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.58, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its 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 net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. Sell-side analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.23%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.28%.

About Hershey

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.