Cassia Capital Partners LLC Sells 1,605 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Cassia Capital Partners LLC lessened its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 53.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,394 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,605 shares during the quarter. Cassia Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $236,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew 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 valued at $1,348,127,000 after acquiring an additional 386,670 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,387,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $841,476,000 after buying an additional 109,336 shares during the period. 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 worth $717,606,000 after buying an additional 35,688 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Hershey by 66.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,571,000 after buying an additional 389,404 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in Hershey by 3.2% in 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 period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Price Performance

Hershey stock opened at $144.78 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $166.37 and a 200-day moving average of $181.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.85. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $143.95 and a 52 week high of $211.92.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.79%. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 63.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on HSY shares. Piper Sandler cut 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 report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Hershey in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “sell” rating and a $165.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $169.79.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $41,144.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.