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

Navellier & Associates Inc. lowered its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,427 shares of the company’s stock after selling 142 shares during the period. Navellier & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $411,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 248.0% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 61.7% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 262 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, City State Bank boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 210.0% during the 4th quarter. City State Bank now owns 310 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 is available at this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on HSY shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Bernstein Bank lowered their price objective 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. Piper Sandler cut shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $164.15.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of HSY opened at $173.03 on Monday. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $211.92. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $160.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $177.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.87, 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share 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 forecast that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.