HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Sells 141 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC trimmed its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,098 shares of the company’s stock after selling 141 shares during the quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $648,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its position in Hershey by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,348,127,000 after acquiring an additional 386,670 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,635,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $785,003,000 after purchasing an additional 247,675 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,753,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $717,606,000 after purchasing an additional 35,688 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Hershey by 66.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,571,000 after purchasing an additional 389,404 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Hershey by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 964,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $185,027,000 after buying 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

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Mizuho lowered their target price on Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Hershey in a research note on Monday, March 24th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $183.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $162.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction 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 approximately $396,936. This trade represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE:HSY opened at $169.55 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $164.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $173.25. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92. 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 has a market capitalization of $34.32 billion, a PE ratio of 15.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced 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 net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. Sell-side analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.