Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 16.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 816,016 shares of the company’s stock after selling 156,820 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $138,192,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of HSY. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Hershey by 30,461.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 573,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,100,130,000 after purchasing an additional 571,766 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 386,670 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Hershey by 31.3% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 586,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,491,000 after purchasing an additional 139,831 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 109,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Hershey by 95.4% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on HSY. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $164.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $396,936. This trade represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

HSY stock opened at $163.08 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.54 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $161.78 and its 200 day moving average is $178.81. The firm has a market cap of $33.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.96, a P/E/G ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 0.37.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (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%. Research analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.