New Century Financial Group LLC Raises Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

New Century Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 13.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,060 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 246 shares during the quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $352,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. Montag & Caldwell LLC purchased a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Michele Buck sold 31,210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.80, for a total transaction of $5,018,568.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 193,624 shares in the company, valued at $31,134,739.20. This represents a 13.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.11, for a total transaction of $153,025.14. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $470,387.34. This trade represents a 24.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $169.06 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $163.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $165.73. The company has a market cap of $34.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.29. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $208.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.96.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.81 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. The company’s revenue was down 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.07 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.24%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on HSY. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $173.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $147.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $162.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $158.84.

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.