The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Sold by First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.

First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,815 shares of the company’s stock after selling 324 shares during the quarter. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $4,372,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its position in Hershey by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,348,127,000 after purchasing an additional 386,670 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position 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 valued at $841,476,000 after purchasing an additional 109,336 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,753,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $717,606,000 after purchasing an additional 35,688 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Hershey by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,571,000 after acquiring an additional 389,404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in Hershey by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 964,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $185,027,000 after acquiring an additional 29,507 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Hershey in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “sell” rating and a $165.00 target price on the stock. Bernstein Bank cut their target price on Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler downgraded Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $165.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY stock opened at $154.52 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 current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market capitalization of $31.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.18, a P/E/G ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 0.37. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $164.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $180.38.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. 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.