Cwm LLC Has $1.62 Million Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Cwm LLC lessened its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 9.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,685 shares of the company’s stock after selling 940 shares during the quarter. Cwm LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,619,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA lifted its position in Hershey by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 754 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Hershey by 0.4% in the third quarter. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC now owns 14,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,853,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its position in shares of Hershey by 1.1% in the third quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 5,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,052,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Hershey by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $272,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Hershey by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,138 shares of the company’s stock valued at $212,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE HSY opened at $186.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.97. 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 $37.98 billion, a PE ratio of 20.58, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.34. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $191.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $190.64.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.07. Hershey had a net margin of 16.67% and a return on equity of 51.79%. The company had revenue of $2.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.02 earnings per share. Hershey’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $1.37 dividend. This is a boost 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 2.94%. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 60.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $191.00 to $183.00 in a research report on Monday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $223.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $369,681.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total transaction of $89,938.62. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $369,681.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.83, for a total transaction of $278,745.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,728 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,196,824.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,453 shares of company stock valued at $665,534 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hershey Company 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.