Crew Capital Management Ltd. Grows Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Crew Capital Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 18.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,226 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 979 shares during the quarter. Crew Capital Management Ltd.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,054,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI grew its holdings in Hershey by 36.4% in the fourth quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 3,939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $665,000 after purchasing an additional 1,051 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew 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 purchasing an additional 247,675 shares during the last quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP acquired a new stake in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at $738,000. Silver Coast Investments LLC grew its holdings in Hershey by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Silver Coast Investments LLC now owns 3,898 shares of the company’s stock valued at $660,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DJE Kapital AG acquired a new stake in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at $1,040,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.15.

Hershey Stock Performance

Hershey stock opened at $176.33 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $160.89 and its 200-day moving average is $176.75. The company has a market cap of $35.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.37. 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.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. Equities analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.11%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.28%.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at $396,936. This trade represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.