Financial Counselors Inc. Cuts Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Financial Counselors Inc. lowered its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,451 shares of the company’s stock after selling 73 shares during the quarter. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,092,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of HSY. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in Hershey by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 18,127 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,476,000 after purchasing an additional 1,877 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 29.1% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 227,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,671,000 after acquiring an additional 51,271 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in Hershey by 91.8% during the third quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $184,000 after acquiring an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Hershey by 8.5% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 37,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,144,000 after acquiring an additional 2,913 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $170.79 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market cap of $34.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.67, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $163.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $174.28. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.21%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HSY has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Citigroup raised Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $159.00 to $154.00 in a report on Friday, February 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $162.50.

Hershey Company 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.