The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Sold by JLB & Associates Inc.

JLB & Associates Inc. trimmed its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 62,941 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,790 shares during the period. Hershey accounts for 1.4% of JLB & Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. JLB & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $10,659,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 248.0% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the third quarter valued at $46,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its stake in Hershey by 61.7% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, City State Bank lifted its holdings in Hershey by 210.0% in the 4th quarter. City State Bank now owns 310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, 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. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $166.12 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $161.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $178.46. The company has a market cap of $33.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.24, a PEG ratio of 5.82 and a beta of 0.37. 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 one year low of $140.13 and a one year high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.30%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on HSY. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Bernstein Bank dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $159.00 to $154.00 in a report on Friday, February 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.15.

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.