Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC Sells 3,517 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 20.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,772 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,517 shares during the quarter. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $2,332,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in Hershey during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,337,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 during the period. Woodstock Corp boosted its stake in Hershey by 34.8% during the 4th quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 6,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,168,000 after purchasing an additional 1,780 shares during the period. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,939,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 61.9% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 120,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,052,000 after acquiring an additional 45,936 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Piper Sandler downgraded Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $178.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. 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 report on Wednesday, January 8th. Five research 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 presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $164.15.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $396,936. This trade represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Up 0.2 %

HSY stock opened at $172.68 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $160.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $177.17. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.84, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings results 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%. Analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.28%.

About Hershey

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.