Parallel Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Parallel Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 14.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,809 shares of the company’s stock after selling 642 shares during the quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $645,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 386,670 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,635,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $785,003,000 after acquiring an additional 247,675 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 35,688 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at $396,936. This trade represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

NYSE HSY opened at $164.33 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $33.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.08, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $140.13 and a 12 month high of $211.92. The company’s 50 day moving average is $162.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $175.30.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup raised shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $159.00 to $154.00 in a report on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler cut shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. 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 note 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 note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $163.75.

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.