First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. Acquires 936 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 3.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 26,139 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 936 shares during the period. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $5,013,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its holdings in Hershey by 218.2% in the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 55.0% during the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 71.9% during the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 251 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on HSY shares. Barclays decreased their price objective on Hershey from $204.00 to $202.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Hershey from $191.00 to $199.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Argus downgraded Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Hershey in a research report on Monday, August 12th. They set a “sell” rating and a $185.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Hershey from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $190.56.

Hershey Stock Up 1.6 %

HSY stock opened at $175.66 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $189.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $192.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $171.67 and a 1-year high of $211.92. The stock has a market cap of $35.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.52, a P/E/G ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 0.38.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.50 by ($0.16). Hershey had a return on equity of 45.36% and a net margin of 16.76%. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.07 billion. Analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.39 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 60.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total value of $107,153.46. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at $644,912.46. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate 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.