Zullo Investment Group Inc. raised its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY – Get Rating) by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 602 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Zullo Investment Group Inc.'s holdings in Hershey were worth $133,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 30,767 shares of the company's stock worth $6,665,000 after purchasing an additional 916 shares in the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the 1st quarter valued at $238,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Hershey by 28.8% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,566 shares of the company's stock worth $339,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Hershey by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,057,990 shares of the company's stock worth $3,045,383,000 after purchasing an additional 216,715 shares during the period. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 32,183 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,972,000 after buying an additional 3,129 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.17% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, major shareholder Hershey Trust Co sold 8,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.83, for a total transaction of $1,985,138.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 39,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,147,792.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Hershey Trust Co sold 8,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.83, for a total transaction of $1,985,138.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 39,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,147,792.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Michele Buck sold 14,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.39, for a total transaction of $3,140,557.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 150,555 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,180,816.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 41,023 shares of company stock valued at $9,293,587. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $234.82 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $229.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $227.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $193.09 and a 12 month high of $242.63. The company has a market cap of $48.16 billion, a PE ratio of 30.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.35.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.25. Hershey had a return on equity of 58.19% and a net margin of 15.69%. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.69 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 8.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, February 17th will be paid a $1.036 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 16th. This represents a $4.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.05%.

Hershey Profile

(Get Rating)

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.

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Want to see what other hedge funds are holding HSY? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY – Get Rating).

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