Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 1,804 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA cut its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 584,761 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,804 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 0.29% of Hershey worth $99,029,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of HSY. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted 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 buying an additional 389,404 shares during the period. Woodstock Corp lifted its holdings in Hershey by 34.8% during the fourth quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 6,896 shares of the company's stock worth $1,168,000 after acquiring an additional 1,780 shares in the last quarter. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,939,000. Ethos Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Hershey by 59.8% during the 4th quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 3,962 shares of the company's stock worth $671,000 after purchasing an additional 1,483 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Hershey by 61.9% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 120,159 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,052,000 after buying an additional 45,936 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction of $41,144.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on HSY shares. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Hershey from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Bernstein Bank reduced their price target on 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, Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $178.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $162.50.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of HSY stock traded down $1.44 on Thursday, reaching $162.72. The company had a trading volume of 476,484 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,795,320. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.94 billion, a PE ratio of 14.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.28. 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 business's 50-day moving average is $166.65 and its 200 day moving average is $171.67. The Hershey Company has a one year low of $140.13 and a one year high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. Equities research analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.