The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Sold by Troy Asset Management Ltd

Troy Asset Management Ltd cut its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 24.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 77,401 shares of the company’s stock after selling 24,476 shares during the period. Troy Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Hershey were worth $13,108,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $80,978,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 66.7% during the third 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. State Street Corp lifted its position 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 buying an additional 386,670 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 5.6% in 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 buying an additional 247,675 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at about $21,439,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. TD Cowen cut their target price on Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price 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, February 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $162.50.

Hershey Trading Down 0.4 %

Hershey stock opened at $169.87 on Friday. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $140.13 and a 1 year high of $211.92. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $164.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $174.04. The firm has a market cap of $34.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.96.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share 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, research analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 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.