Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 18,821 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Victory Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 11.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 141,986 shares of the company's stock after selling 18,821 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.07% of Hershey worth $24,045,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the third quarter valued at $719,000. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,316 shares of the company's stock worth $828,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 125.5% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 13,121 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,516,000 after buying an additional 7,302 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc grew its position in shares of Hershey by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 36,877 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,072,000 after purchasing an additional 1,223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sheets Smith Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 29.6% in the third quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 2,614 shares of the company's stock worth $501,000 after purchasing an additional 597 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares of the company's stock, valued at $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

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Hershey Stock Down 3.7 %

Hershey stock traded down $6.81 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $179.55. The company had a trading volume of 2,256,049 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,811,869. The Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $140.13 and a 12 month high of $211.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $161.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $176.33. The company has a market capitalization of $36.34 billion, a PE ratio of 16.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last announced 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on HSY. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Bernstein Bank reduced their price objective on Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut Hershey from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $153.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $164.15.

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.