Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. Sells 6,300 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 30.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,700 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,300 shares during the quarter. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Hershey were worth $2,489,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 30,461.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 573,643 shares of the company's stock worth $1,100,130,000 after acquiring an additional 571,766 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Hershey by 66.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company's stock valued at $186,571,000 after purchasing an additional 389,404 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position 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 during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 31.3% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 586,565 shares of the company's stock worth $112,491,000 after purchasing an additional 139,831 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $841,476,000 after buying an additional 109,336 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $178.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup upgraded shares of Hershey from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $159.00 to $154.00 in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their target price on Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Hershey presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $164.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the business's 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 sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hershey Stock Performance

Hershey stock traded up $6.93 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $173.03. The company had a trading volume of 4,114,899 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,072,895. The company has a 50 day moving average of $160.67 and a 200-day moving average of $178.37. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 week high of $211.92. 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 firm has a market cap of $35.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.87, a PEG ratio of 5.82 and a beta of 0.37.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last released its 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. 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.