Equitable Trust Co. Reduces Stock Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Equitable Trust Co. lessened its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 10.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,335 shares of the company’s stock after selling 148 shares during the quarter. Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $226,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Hershey by 30,461.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 573,643 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,100,130,000 after purchasing an additional 571,766 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Hershey by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,571,000 after purchasing an additional 389,404 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Hershey by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,348,127,000 after purchasing an additional 386,670 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Hershey by 31.3% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 586,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,491,000 after purchasing an additional 139,831 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Hershey by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,387,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $841,476,000 after purchasing an additional 109,336 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on HSY shares. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Hershey in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “sell” rating and a $165.00 price target on the stock. Bernstein Bank decreased their price objective on Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $165.05.

Insider Activity

In related 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly 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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

NYSE:HSY opened at $158.34 on Wednesday. The Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $140.13 and a 12 month high of $211.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $163.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $180.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market cap of $32.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 0.37.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) 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, analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.46%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.28%.

About Hershey

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.