Wells Fargo & Company MN Lowers Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Wells Fargo & Company MN reduced its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 23.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 497,554 shares of the company's stock after selling 148,931 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned about 0.25% of Hershey worth $84,261,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several 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 Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $80,978,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Hershey by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,635,390 shares of the company's stock worth $785,003,000 after purchasing an additional 247,675 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $21,439,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at $18,273,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Hershey in a report on Monday, March 24th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $183.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced 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. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $178.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $162.50.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE:HSY traded up $1.47 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $165.56. The stock had a trading volume of 1,233,925 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,800,614. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.19, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.28. The Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $140.13 and a 1-year high of $211.92. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $167.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $171.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.