Good Life Advisors LLC Has $372,000 Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Good Life Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 45.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,995 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 623 shares during the period. Good Life Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $372,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Deane Retirement Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in Hershey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,844,000. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC now owns 1,593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 4,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $899,000 after purchasing an additional 598 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $376,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 93.4% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 28,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,325,000 after purchasing an additional 13,795 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on HSY shares. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Hershey in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $213.00 price objective for the company. DA Davidson began coverage on Hershey in a report on Friday, December 8th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $205.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $213.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, March 15th. Bank of America cut Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $250.00 to $200.00 in a report on Friday, December 15th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised Hershey from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $225.48.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Charles R. Raup sold 2,065 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.85, for a total value of $396,170.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,833,624.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Charles R. Raup sold 2,065 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.85, for a total value of $396,170.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,770 shares in the company, valued at $2,833,624.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total value of $89,938.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at $369,681.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,518 shares of company stock valued at $1,066,414 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $194.54 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $39.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.50, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $178.82 and a 1 year high of $276.88. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $193.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $192.80.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.72 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 51.79% and a net margin of 16.67%. Hershey’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.02 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. This is a positive change from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.55%.

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.