Quantbot Technologies LP Reduces Stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Quantbot Technologies LP lessened its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 66.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,751 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,204 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,651,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. 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 purchasing an additional 389,404 shares during the period. Woodstock Corp raised its position in Hershey by 34.8% in the fourth quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 6,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,168,000 after acquiring an additional 1,780 shares during the period. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at $1,939,000. Ethos Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Hershey by 59.8% in the 4th quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 3,962 shares of the company’s stock worth $671,000 after purchasing an additional 1,483 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in Hershey by 61.9% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 120,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,052,000 after purchasing an additional 45,936 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on HSY. UBS Group reduced their price target on Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Piper Sandler cut shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Hershey in a research note on Monday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $183.00 target price on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seventeen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $164.67.

Hershey Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of HSY opened at $168.30 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.07 billion, a PE ratio of 15.44, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The company’s fifty day moving average is $162.83 and its 200 day moving average is $174.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.96. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 50.28%.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

About Hershey

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.