Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. Raises Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. boosted its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,900 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 345 shares during the period. Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $660,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in HSY. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 248.0% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 61.7% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Hershey during the 3rd quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, City State Bank grew its position in shares of Hershey by 210.0% in the fourth quarter. City State Bank now owns 310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $172.33 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $34.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.81, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.37. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $160.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $177.50. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $211.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.64 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.18%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of Hershey 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Bernstein Bank dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $164.15.

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.