Centaurus Financial Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Centaurus Financial Inc. lowered its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY – Get Rating) by 6.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,072 shares of the company’s stock after selling 222 shares during the quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $677,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dupont Capital Management Corp grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 26.3% in the third quarter. Dupont Capital Management Corp now owns 5,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,314,000 after purchasing an additional 1,241 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its stake in Hershey by 1.2% during the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 83,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,490,000 after buying an additional 997 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in Hershey by 0.8% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 76,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,906,000 after buying an additional 614 shares during the period. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 6.1% during the third quarter. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $289,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC purchased a new position in Hershey during the third quarter worth about $202,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.17% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $243.15 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $232.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $230.18. The stock has a market cap of $49.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.31. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $201.42 and a fifty-two week high of $247.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 15.79% and a return on equity of 57.76%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.69 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $1.036 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 16th. This represents a $4.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 52.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Hershey from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Hershey from $255.00 to $277.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 2nd. Credit Suisse Group increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Hershey from $231.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $245.23.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CEO Michele Buck sold 14,251 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.95, for a total transaction of $3,433,778.45. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 153,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,972,090.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Hershey news, CEO Michele Buck sold 14,251 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.95, for a total transaction of $3,433,778.45. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 153,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,972,090.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jason Reiman sold 150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.83, for a total transaction of $35,224.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,986,333.11. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 48,727 shares of company stock valued at $11,522,062. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hershey Profile

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The Hershey Co engages in the manufacture and marketing of chocolate, sweets, mints and confectionery products. The firm operates through the following geographical segments: North America and International and Other. The North America is responsible for the traditional chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery market position of the company, as well as its grocery and snacks market positions, in the United States and Canada.