Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. Boosts Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. boosted its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 9.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,900 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the period. Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $660,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 66.7% in 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 last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Hershey by 5.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,348,127,000 after buying an additional 386,670 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Hershey by 31.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 586,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,491,000 after buying an additional 139,831 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Hershey by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,387,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $841,476,000 after purchasing an additional 109,336 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter worth about $18,273,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on HSY shares. UBS Group dropped their target price on Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler cut shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $153.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.15.

Hershey Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of HSY stock opened at $172.33 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $34.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.81, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.37. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $160.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $177.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 50.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 transaction of $41,144.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hershey Company 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.