Prudential PLC Sells 5,621 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Prudential PLC lowered its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 39.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,683 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,621 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC's holdings in Hershey were worth $1,470,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 4,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $762,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A now owns 3,240 shares of the company's stock valued at $549,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 5,546 shares of the company's stock valued at $939,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in Hershey by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 5,438 shares of the company's stock worth $921,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, Waterfront Wealth Inc. increased its stake in Hershey by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 5,744 shares of the company's stock valued at $973,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on HSY shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $162.50.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY traded up $0.78 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $164.87. 288,461 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,794,962. The Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $140.13 and a 12 month high of $211.92. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $166.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $171.47. 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 capitalization of $33.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.28.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were given 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 3.32%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.28%.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of Hershey 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.