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

Dillon & Associates Inc. reduced its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,632 shares of the company’s stock after selling 201 shares during the quarter. Dillon & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $614,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Avestar Capital LLC increased its stake in Hershey by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A increased its stake in Hershey by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A now owns 3,240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $549,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Hershey by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,151 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,563,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in Hershey by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 5,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $921,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, Waterfront Wealth Inc. increased its stake in Hershey by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 5,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $973,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on HSY. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Bernstein Bank decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Piper Sandler lowered shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $163.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was 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 owns 2,682 shares in the company, 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 available through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hershey Stock Up 1.8 %

HSY opened at $167.38 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $162.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $174.80. The company has a market cap of $33.88 billion, a PE ratio of 15.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $140.13 and a 1 year high of $211.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.96.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.28%.

Hershey Company 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.