The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Sold by Rhumbline Advisers

Rhumbline Advisers reduced its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 319,154 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,086 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.16% of Hershey worth $54,049,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 23.3% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.6% during the third quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 4,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $792,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 6.0% during the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Massachusetts Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.3% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 6,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,152,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Parthenon LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 0.3% during the third quarter. Parthenon LLC now owns 24,240 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,649,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on HSY shares. Barclays cut their price objective on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Hershey in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “sell” rating and a $165.00 price target for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.15.

Hershey Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $157.99 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $162.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $179.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $211.92. The firm has a market cap of $31.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.49, a PEG ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 0.37.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. On average, research analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 6.77 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.