Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $138.19 Million Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 16.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 816,016 shares of the company’s stock after selling 156,820 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.40% of Hershey worth $138,192,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the third quarter valued at about $1,337,000. Woodstock Corp raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 34.8% during the fourth quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 6,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,168,000 after purchasing an additional 1,780 shares during the period. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,939,000. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 61.9% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 120,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,052,000 after purchasing an additional 45,936 shares during the period. Finally, Pensionfund Sabic raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 55.6% during the fourth quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 8,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,423,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Hershey in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “sell” rating and a $165.00 target price on the stock. Bernstein Bank lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $164.15.

Hershey Stock Up 3.3 %

Hershey stock opened at $163.08 on Wednesday. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $211.92. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $161.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $178.81. The company has a market capitalization of $33.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.96, a P/E/G ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 0.37. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 6.77 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 3.36%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

Insider Activity

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 transaction of $41,144.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

About Hershey

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.