The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Holdings Lowered by NBT Bank N A NY

NBT Bank N A NY trimmed its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 8.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,599 shares of the company’s stock after selling 407 shares during the quarter. NBT Bank N A NY’s holdings in Hershey were worth $779,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Hershey by 248.0% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in Hershey in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Hershey by 61.7% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 262 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Hershey in the 3rd quarter worth about $46,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on HSY shares. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $178.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup raised Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $159.00 to $154.00 in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $164.15.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $186.19 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market cap of $37.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.08, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $161.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $176.33. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 week high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, equities research analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. Hershey’s payout ratio is 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.