Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. Sells 125 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co. decreased its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,950 shares of the company’s stock after selling 125 shares during the quarter. Burke & Herbert Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $838,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in 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. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,387,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $841,476,000 after acquiring an additional 109,336 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Hershey by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,753,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $717,606,000 after acquiring an additional 35,688 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Hershey by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,571,000 after purchasing an additional 389,404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in Hershey by 3.2% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 964,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $185,027,000 after purchasing an additional 29,507 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group lowered their target price on Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Bernstein Bank dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Hershey in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “sell” rating and a $165.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $178.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup raised Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $159.00 to $154.00 in a report on Friday, February 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $164.15.

Hershey Price Performance

NYSE HSY opened at $157.99 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.96. The Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $140.13 and a 52-week high of $211.92. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $162.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $179.11. The stock 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value 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. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company 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.