Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Purchases 33,055 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 568.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,867 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 33,055 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $6,582,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Hershey by 31.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 12,460,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,110,126,000 after purchasing an additional 2,980,997 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,801,145 shares of the company’s stock valued at $642,139,000 after acquiring an additional 47,394 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Hershey by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,282,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $217,222,000 after acquiring an additional 87,498 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Hershey by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,096,767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $185,743,000 after acquiring an additional 132,019 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on HSY. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $183.00 to $177.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $163.35.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hershey Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:HSY opened at $163.18 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $33.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.28. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $211.92. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $169.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $169.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 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%. As a group, analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

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.