Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Trims Stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC cut its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 7.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 85,420 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,731 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC's holdings in Hershey were worth $14,466,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Hershey by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,688 shares of the company's stock worth $707,000 after buying an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 25,919 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,971,000 after acquiring an additional 1,248 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 23.6% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 92,573 shares of the company's stock worth $17,754,000 after acquiring an additional 17,703 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 11.6% during the third quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 123,160 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,620,000 after purchasing an additional 12,832 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Hershey by 6.5% during the third quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,856 shares of the company's stock valued at $739,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the subject of a number of research reports. DA Davidson decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup raised Hershey from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $159.00 to $154.00 in a research report on Friday, February 7th. 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. Bernstein Bank cut their target price 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. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price target 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $163.75.

Hershey Price Performance

HSY traded up $2.91 during trading on Friday, hitting $167.38. 3,046,959 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,753,828. The company has a market cap of $33.88 billion, a PE ratio of 15.36, a P/E/G 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 current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $162.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $175.30.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.27%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.28%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

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.