Davis R M Inc. Sells 75,423 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Davis R M Inc. lessened its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 55.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 61,209 shares of the company’s stock after selling 75,423 shares during the quarter. Davis R M Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $10,366,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HSY. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Hershey in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its stake in Hershey by 248.0% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew 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 buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Hershey in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on HSY shares. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $178.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Piper Sandler lowered shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $159.00 to $154.00 in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.15.

Hershey Stock Performance

Hershey stock opened at $186.19 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market capitalization of $37.69 billion, a PE ratio of 17.08, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $161.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $176.33. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 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%. Research analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.28%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.