Fidelis Capital Partners LLC Has $364,000 Stock Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 50.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,951 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 651 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $364,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Xponance Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 30,288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,647,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares during the period. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 26.7% in the 4th quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 2,331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $435,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares during the period. Waterfront Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at about $629,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 15,226 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,839,000 after purchasing an additional 2,775 shares during the period. Finally, Archer Investment Corp raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 130.0% in the 4th quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 2,477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $462,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas cut shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Hershey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $223.33.

Hershey Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of HSY opened at $185.02 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $37.73 billion, a PE ratio of 20.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.34. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $192.31 and its 200-day moving average is $190.97. The Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $178.82 and a 12 month high of $276.88.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter last year, the business posted $2.02 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $1.37 per share. This is a positive change from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.96%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.97, for a total value of $283,455.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 29,816 shares in the company, valued at $5,634,329.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the firm’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 value of $89,938.62. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at $369,681.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.97, for a total transaction of $283,455.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 29,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,634,329.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,453 shares of company stock worth $670,244. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.