Prudential Financial Inc. Reduces Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Prudential Financial Inc. lessened its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 13.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 78,933 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,164 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.'s holdings in Hershey were worth $13,367,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 5.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,348,127,000 after purchasing an additional 386,670 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Hershey by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,635,390 shares of the company's stock worth $785,003,000 after purchasing an additional 247,675 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Hershey by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,753,751 shares of the company's stock valued at $717,606,000 after buying an additional 35,688 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Hershey by 66.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company's stock worth $186,571,000 after buying an additional 389,404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 3.2% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 964,748 shares of the company's stock worth $185,027,000 after acquiring an additional 29,507 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at $396,936. This trade represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on HSY shares. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $162.50.

Hershey Trading Down 0.4 %

HSY traded down $0.75 during trading on Friday, hitting $169.87. 1,075,173 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,788,113. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $140.13 and a 1 year high of $211.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $164.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $173.84. The firm has a market cap of $34.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors 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 3.23%. Hershey's payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

About Hershey

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.