The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Sold by Vontobel Holding Ltd.

Vontobel Holding Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 25.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,569 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,857 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.'s holdings in Hershey were worth $3,314,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in HSY. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 30,461.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 573,643 shares of the company's stock worth $1,100,130,000 after buying an additional 571,766 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 66.7% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company's stock worth $1,348,127,000 after buying an additional 386,670 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 31.3% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 586,565 shares of the company's stock worth $112,491,000 after buying an additional 139,831 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,387,715 shares of the company's stock worth $841,476,000 after buying an additional 109,336 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $41,144.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $396,936. This trade represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Bernstein Bank decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Hershey from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $159.00 to $154.00 in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $164.15.

Hershey Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of HSY stock traded up $0.89 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $163.88. 1,391,897 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,026,145. 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 one year low of $140.13 and a one year high of $211.92. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $161.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $178.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.04, a P/E/G ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 0.37.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.28%.

Hershey Company 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.