Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co Increases Stock Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 15.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 15,138 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,025 shares during the quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Hershey were worth $2,564,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 248.0% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Hershey by 61.7% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 262 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $41,144.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY stock opened at $169.87 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $211.92. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $164.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $174.04.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 50.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HSY has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $159.00 to $154.00 in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $162.50.

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.