Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC Sells 2,240 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC cut its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 35.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,052 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,240 shares during the period. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $686,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 5.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,348,127,000 after purchasing an additional 386,670 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Hershey by 2.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,387,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $841,476,000 after acquiring an additional 109,336 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,753,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $717,606,000 after purchasing an additional 35,688 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 valued at $186,571,000 after purchasing an additional 389,404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in Hershey by 3.2% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 964,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $185,027,000 after buying an additional 29,507 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HSY has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $163.00 to $161.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $230.00 to $205.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Hershey from $165.00 to $159.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $176.42.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY opened at $152.82 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $171.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $184.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.92 billion, a PE ratio of 17.61, a P/E/G ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $150.31 and a 12-month high of $211.92.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.59%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.13%.

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.