William Allan Corp Has $1.15 Million Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

William Allan Corp lowered its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,808 shares of the company’s stock after selling 542 shares during the period. William Allan Corp’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,153,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 20,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,535,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Hershey by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc. now owns 28,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,775,000 after acquiring an additional 491 shares during the last quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 7,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,216,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 20.7% in the fourth quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 2,567 shares of the company’s stock valued at $435,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fruth Investment Management lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Fruth Investment Management now owns 31,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,417,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were 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 approximately $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HSY has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $178.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $166.85.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $152.43 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $165.24 and a 200-day moving average of $180.97. The stock has a market cap of $30.84 billion, a PE ratio of 17.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.85. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a return on equity of 43.24% and a net margin of 16.17%. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.60%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.13%.

Hershey 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.