Soltis Investment Advisors LLC Sells 2,311 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Soltis Investment Advisors LLC cut its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 42,028 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,311 shares during the period. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $7,118,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,348,127,000 after purchasing an additional 386,670 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Hershey by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,387,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $841,476,000 after purchasing an additional 109,336 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,753,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $717,606,000 after purchasing an additional 35,688 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Hershey by 66.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,571,000 after buying an additional 389,404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in Hershey by 3.2% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 964,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $185,027,000 after buying an additional 29,507 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the company’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Up 1.7 %

NYSE:HSY opened at $154.98 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $31.36 billion, a PE ratio of 14.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a 50-day moving average of $164.38 and a 200 day moving average of $180.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $140.13 and a 1-year high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its 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 return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 6.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on HSY. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Hershey in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “sell” rating and a $165.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group dropped 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. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $178.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $166.35.

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.