The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Holdings Cut by Congress Asset Management Co.

Congress Asset Management Co. decreased its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 5.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 42,833 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,502 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co.'s holdings in Hershey were worth $7,254,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp grew its position in Hershey by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company's stock worth $1,348,127,000 after purchasing an additional 386,670 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,387,715 shares of the company's stock worth $841,476,000 after acquiring an additional 109,336 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,753,751 shares of the company's stock worth $717,606,000 after acquiring an additional 35,688 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 66.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company's stock worth $186,571,000 after acquiring an additional 389,404 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 3.2% in the 3rd 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 period. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Hershey Trading Up 0.5 %

Hershey stock traded up $0.89 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $163.88. The stock had a trading volume of 1,391,897 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,026,145. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $161.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $178.56. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $211.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market cap of $33.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.04, a PEG ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 0.37.

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, topping 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%. Equities analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.34%. Hershey's payout ratio is 50.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on HSY. Bernstein Bank reduced 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 note on Wednesday, February 5th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $164.15.

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.