Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Trims Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC reduced its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 30.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,636 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,210 shares during the quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,632,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Hershey by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,348,127,000 after purchasing an additional 386,670 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted 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 worth $841,476,000 after purchasing an additional 109,336 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Hershey by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,753,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $717,606,000 after buying an additional 35,688 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,571,000 after acquiring an additional 389,404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in Hershey by 3.2% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 964,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $185,027,000 after purchasing an additional 29,507 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on HSY shares. Jefferies Financial Group decreased 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. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. DA Davidson lowered their price target on Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Piper Sandler lowered Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $178.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $164.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at $396,936. This trade represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY stock opened at $158.13 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $163.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $179.86. The Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $140.13 and a 12 month high of $211.92. The company has a market capitalization of $32.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.51, a P/E/G ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, equities analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 6.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 50.28%.

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.