The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Sold by National Pension Service

National Pension Service lowered its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 49.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 229,273 shares of the company’s stock after selling 226,795 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in Hershey were worth $38,827,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Forum Financial Management LP increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 4,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $792,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 6.0% during the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Parthenon LLC grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 0.3% during the third quarter. Parthenon LLC now owns 24,240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,649,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.0% during the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,151 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,563,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waterfront Wealth Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 5,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $973,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the 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 owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on HSY shares. Citigroup raised shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $159.00 to $154.00 in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $178.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $164.15.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of HSY stock opened at $172.68 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 is $160.58 and its 200-day moving average is $177.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.84, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

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 3.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 50.28%.

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.