The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Sold by Amalgamated Bank

Amalgamated Bank reduced its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 28,667 shares of the company’s stock after selling 612 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Hershey were worth $4,855,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 66.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,571,000 after purchasing an additional 389,404 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Hershey by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,348,127,000 after buying an additional 386,670 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Hershey by 31.3% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 586,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,491,000 after buying an additional 139,831 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Hershey by 2.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,387,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $841,476,000 after buying an additional 109,336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 95.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 218,055 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,558,000 after acquiring an additional 106,450 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE:HSY opened at $172.33 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $160.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $177.50. 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 stock has a market cap of $34.87 billion, a PE ratio of 15.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.37. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share 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%. Analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HSY has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup raised shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $159.00 to $154.00 in a report on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $178.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.