Good Life Advisors LLC Sells 1,884 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Good Life Advisors LLC lowered its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 37.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,168 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,884 shares during the quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC's holdings in Hershey were worth $536,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its stake in Hershey by 23.3% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 333 shares of the company's stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 4,130 shares of the company's stock worth $792,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC grew its position in Hershey by 6.0% in the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the company's stock worth $225,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management increased its stake in Hershey by 1.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 6,007 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,152,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parthenon LLC raised its position in Hershey by 0.3% during the third quarter. Parthenon LLC now owns 24,240 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,649,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Hershey Trading Up 4.2 %

Shares of HSY stock traded up $6.93 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $173.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,114,899 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,072,895. 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 Hershey Company has a one year low of $140.13 and a one year high of $211.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.87, a P/E/G ratio of 5.82 and a beta of 0.37. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $160.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $178.37.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho cut their price objective on Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $164.15.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the firm's 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 approximately $396,936. This trade represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

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.