Metis Global Partners LLC Raises Stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 12,170 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 291 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $2,061,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in HSY. Forum Financial Management LP raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 4,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $792,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC increased its holdings in Hershey by 6.0% in the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Parthenon LLC increased its holdings in Hershey by 0.3% in the third quarter. Parthenon LLC now owns 24,240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,649,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in Hershey by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 5,438 shares of the company’s stock worth $921,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $41,144.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $178.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler cut shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $153.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, 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 note on Friday, February 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $164.15.

Hershey Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:HSY opened at $172.68 on Monday. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $140.13 and a 1 year high of $211.92. The business has a fifty day moving average of $160.58 and a 200-day moving average of $177.00. 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 stock has a market cap of $34.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.84, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.37.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current 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 given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.28%.

Hershey Company 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.