Levin Capital Strategies L.P. Lowers Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Levin Capital Strategies L.P. decreased its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 42.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,250 shares during the quarter. Levin Capital Strategies L.P.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $508,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.6% in the third quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 4,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $792,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 6.0% in the third 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. Parthenon LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 0.3% in the third quarter. Parthenon LLC now owns 24,240 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,649,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.0% in the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,151 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,563,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 5,438 shares of the company’s stock worth $921,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HSY has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $178.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price target on Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.15.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $41,144.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares in the company, 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 at this link. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

HSY stock opened at $172.68 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $160.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $177.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.94 billion, a PE ratio of 15.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.37. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $140.13 and a 1 year high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business 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 $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.28%.

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.