Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Sells 6,731 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lessened its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 7.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 85,420 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,731 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $14,466,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of HSY. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the third quarter valued at $1,337,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Hershey by 66.7% during the third 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 period. Woodstock Corp grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 34.8% during the 4th quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 6,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,168,000 after acquiring an additional 1,780 shares during the period. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter worth $1,939,000. Finally, Ethos Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Hershey by 59.8% during the fourth quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 3,962 shares of the company’s stock valued at $671,000 after acquiring an additional 1,483 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. DA Davidson lowered 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. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Bernstein Bank dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $163.75.

Hershey Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of HSY stock opened at $170.51 on Tuesday. The Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $140.13 and a 1-year high of $211.92. The company has a market cap of $34.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $162.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $175.60.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share 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%. On average, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $41,144.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $396,936. The trade was 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 link. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.