Howland Capital Management LLC Sells 1,927 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Howland Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 22.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,596 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,927 shares during the quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,117,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Hershey by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 28,088 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,757,000 after buying an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 42.6% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 36,972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,261,000 after buying an additional 11,053 shares during the last quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 55.1% in the 4th quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 5,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $930,000 after buying an additional 1,952 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Preferred LLC bought a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at $430,000. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 641.1% in the 4th quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 60,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,230,000 after buying an additional 52,256 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $154.98 on Friday. The Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $140.13 and a 12 month high of $211.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $164.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $180.52. The firm has a market cap of $31.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.22, a PEG ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 0.37.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 6.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.54%. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on HSY. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group cut their price target on Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Hershey from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $166.35.

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.