The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Sold by Heartland Advisors Inc.

Heartland Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 23.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 77,906 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,848 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $13,193,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. DnB Asset Management AS grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 36,771 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,227,000 after buying an additional 3,570 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Hershey by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 68,287 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,564,000 after acquiring an additional 796 shares during the last quarter. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in Hershey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $320,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at $5,618,000. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL raised its holdings in Hershey by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 39,387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,670,000 after acquiring an additional 2,365 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $396,936. This trade represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hershey Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE:HSY opened at $170.79 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $163.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $174.28. The Hershey Company has a one year low of $140.13 and a one year high of $211.92. The company has a market capitalization of $34.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.96.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. Sell-side analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Piper Sandler lowered shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. 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 has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $162.50.

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.