The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Sold by Savant Capital LLC

Savant Capital LLC decreased its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 19.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,582 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,800 shares during the quarter. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,284,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. CX Institutional boosted its position in Hershey by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 7,442 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,427,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 52.4% in the third quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 2,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $489,000 after buying an additional 877 shares during the period. Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 3.1% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 135,898 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,063,000 after buying an additional 4,124 shares in the last quarter. Carderock Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Carderock Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,912,000 after buying an additional 2,439 shares during the period. Finally, SPC Financial Inc. lifted its position in Hershey by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 4,705 shares of the company’s stock worth $902,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on HSY. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup upgraded shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $159.00 to $154.00 in a report on Friday, February 7th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Hershey in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “sell” rating and a $165.00 target price for the company. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.15.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $160.92 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.76, a P/E/G ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 0.37. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $163.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $179.71. The Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $140.13 and a 52-week high of $211.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 6.77 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.41%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $396,936. This trade represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.