Vestcor Inc Reduces Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Vestcor Inc trimmed its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 8.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 80,467 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,879 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Hershey were worth $13,627,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Hershey during the third quarter worth $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 248.0% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 61.7% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the third quarter valued at $46,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $170.73 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $162.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $176.17. The firm has a market cap of $34.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.66, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 week high of $211.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 expect that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered 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. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.