Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt Decreases Stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt decreased its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 90.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,950 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt’s holdings in Hershey were worth $85,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,337,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 66.7% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Woodstock Corp boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 34.8% in the fourth quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 6,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,168,000 after buying an additional 1,780 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 61.9% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 120,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,052,000 after buying an additional 45,936 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pensionfund Sabic raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 55.6% during the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 8,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,423,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Bernstein Bank decreased their price target on Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $178.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $166.35.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $154.98 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $164.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $180.78. 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 market cap of $31.36 billion, a PE ratio of 17.85, a P/E/G ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.38.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a return on equity of 43.24% and a net margin of 16.17%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.06 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.13%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated 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 $396,936. This trade represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.29% 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.