PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Has $56.33 Million Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. trimmed its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 21.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 332,651 shares of the company’s stock after selling 91,872 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned approximately 0.16% of Hershey worth $56,334,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in Hershey by 248.0% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its position in Hershey by 61.7% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 262 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Hershey in the third quarter worth about $46,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HSY has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $178.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. DA Davidson decreased their target price on Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.15.

Hershey Trading Up 2.8 %

NYSE HSY opened at $185.11 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.98, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $161.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $176.40. 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 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 week high of $211.92.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 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.