The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Sold by DT Investment Partners LLC

DT Investment Partners LLC lowered its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 32.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,951 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,734 shares during the period. DT Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $2,363,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,348,127,000 after acquiring an additional 386,670 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,387,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $841,476,000 after acquiring an additional 109,336 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,753,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $717,606,000 after acquiring an additional 35,688 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 66.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,571,000 after acquiring an additional 389,404 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 964,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $185,027,000 after acquiring an additional 29,507 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $160.92 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $32.56 billion, a PE ratio of 14.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 0.37. The Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $140.13 and a 12 month high of $211.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $163.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $179.71.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, equities analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.28%.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were 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 directly owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on HSY. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Piper Sandler cut 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.15.

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.