Proficio Capital Partners LLC Invests $18.27 Million in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 107,902 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,273,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Hershey as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of HSY. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Hershey by 66.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,571,000 after buying an additional 389,404 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Hershey by 5.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,348,127,000 after buying an additional 386,670 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Hershey by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,635,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $785,003,000 after buying an additional 247,675 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Hershey by 31.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 586,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,491,000 after buying an additional 139,831 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Hershey by 95.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 218,055 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,558,000 after buying an additional 106,450 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hershey Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of HSY stock opened at $170.32 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $34.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.63, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $162.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $175.96. 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 Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. Research analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.28%.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $41,144.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced 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. 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. Bernstein Bank cut their price target on Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen cut their price target on Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $178.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $163.75.

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.