The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Sold by Motco

Motco cut its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 39,668 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,406 shares during the quarter. Motco’s holdings in Hershey were worth $6,718,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in Hershey by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 5,438 shares of the company’s stock worth $921,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. now owns 3,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $660,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Schulhoff & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Schulhoff & Co. Inc. now owns 4,296 shares of the company’s stock worth $728,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. grew its position in shares of Hershey by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. now owns 86,669 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,677,000 after purchasing an additional 9,808 shares during the period. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Hershey by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,388,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Thursday, December 12th. 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. Citigroup raised Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $159.00 to $154.00 in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price 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. Finally, Bernstein Bank lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $164.15.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $172.33 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $160.53 and a 200-day moving average of $177.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm 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 twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its 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 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.18%. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

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.