Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. Sells 1,807 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. lessened its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 55.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,459 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,807 shares during the quarter. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $247,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Hershey in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 248.0% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 61.7% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 262 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Hershey during the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, City State Bank grew its position in Hershey by 210.0% in the 4th quarter. City State Bank now owns 310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on HSY shares. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Bernstein Bank dropped their price objective on Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Five investment 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 has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.15.

Hershey Price Performance

NYSE HSY opened at $173.03 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $160.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $178.37. The company has a market cap of $35.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.87, a PEG ratio of 5.82 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 released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.17%. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other Hershey 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 value of $41,144.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.