The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Sold by Korea Investment CORP

Korea Investment CORP lowered its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 75.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,489 shares of the company’s stock after selling 120,838 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Hershey were worth $6,687,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Hershey by 248.0% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in Hershey during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in Hershey during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 61.7% in 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 in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HSY has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group cut their price objective 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 cut their price target on Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup raised shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $159.00 to $154.00 in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $162.50.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of HSY opened at $170.99 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $164.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $173.48. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $211.92. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $34.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

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.