Hendley & Co. Inc. Sells 11,733 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Hendley & Co. Inc. trimmed its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 26.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 32,376 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,733 shares during the period. Hershey accounts for approximately 1.9% of Hendley & Co. Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Hendley & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $5,483,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 389,404 shares during the last quarter. 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 during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 31.3% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 586,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,491,000 after acquiring an additional 139,831 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 2.6% during the third 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, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 95.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 218,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,558,000 after purchasing an additional 106,450 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on HSY. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $164.15.

Hershey Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $178.12 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 Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 week high of $211.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $160.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $177.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.04 billion, a PE ratio of 16.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.37.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.28%.

Insider Activity

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 value of $41,144.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.