Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp Has $3.06 Million Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp cut its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 10.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,077 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,083 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp's holdings in Hershey were worth $3,061,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $80,978,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,635,390 shares of the company's stock worth $785,003,000 after acquiring an additional 247,675 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter worth $21,439,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at $18,273,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on HSY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Hershey currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $162.50.

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Hershey Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:HSY traded up $1.47 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $165.56. 1,233,925 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,800,614. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.19, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.96. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $211.92. The business's fifty day moving average price is $167.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $171.16.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. On average, research analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Hershey's payout ratio is 50.28%.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $41,144.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

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.