AMI Investment Management Inc. Takes Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

AMI Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 8,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,527,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Blair William & Co. IL raised its holdings in Hershey by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 30,767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,665,000 after buying an additional 916 shares during the period. Dakota Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the first quarter worth about $238,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Hershey by 28.8% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $339,000 after buying an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Hershey by 1.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,057,990 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,045,383,000 after buying an additional 216,715 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. boosted its holdings in Hershey by 10.8% in the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 32,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,972,000 after purchasing an additional 3,129 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on HSY shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Morgan Stanley downgraded Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $191.00 to $183.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $213.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, March 15th. Bank of America downgraded Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $250.00 to $200.00 in a report on Friday, December 15th. Finally, BNP Paribas downgraded Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $225.48.

Hershey Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of HSY stock opened at $194.54 on Friday. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $178.82 and a fifty-two week high of $276.88. The stock has a market cap of $39.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.34. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $193.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $192.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.07. Hershey had a return on equity of 51.79% and a net margin of 16.67%. The business had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.02 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. This is a positive change from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.55%.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, insider Charles R. Raup sold 2,065 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.85, for a total transaction of $396,170.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 14,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,833,624.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $296,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 40,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,961,121.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Charles R. Raup sold 2,065 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.85, for a total value of $396,170.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 14,770 shares in the company, valued at $2,833,624.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,518 shares of company stock valued at $1,066,414 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.