The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Bought by Tower Research Capital LLC TRC

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 71.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,325 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,304 shares during the quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,749,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $762,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A boosted its holdings in Hershey by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A now owns 3,240 shares of the company’s stock worth $549,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its position in Hershey by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 5,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $939,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its position in Hershey by 42.5% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 238 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 5,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $921,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $178.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. TD Cowen cut their target price on Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Hershey has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $163.35.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $167.40 on Wednesday. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $211.92. The company has a market cap of $33.88 billion, a PE ratio of 15.36, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.28. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $169.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $170.08. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the company’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. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.