Weatherly Asset Management L. P. Sells 107 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Weatherly Asset Management L. P. lessened its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,705 shares of the company’s stock after selling 107 shares during the period. Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $458,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 30,461.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 573,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,100,130,000 after buying an additional 571,766 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 66.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,571,000 after buying an additional 389,404 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 5.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,348,127,000 after buying an additional 386,670 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 31.3% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 586,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,491,000 after buying an additional 139,831 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 2.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,387,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $841,476,000 after buying an additional 109,336 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $154.52 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $164.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $180.38. The Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $140.13 and a 52-week high of $211.92. The firm has a market cap of $31.27 billion, a PE ratio of 14.18, a P/E/G ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.96.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its 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%. On average, analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 6.77 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid 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 yield of 3.55%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 50.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on HSY. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup upgraded Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $159.00 to $154.00 in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. 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. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $165.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at $396,936. This trade 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 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.