Truist Financial Corp Cuts Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Truist Financial Corp lessened its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSYFree Report) by 38.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 258,125 shares of the company’s stock after selling 158,735 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Hershey were worth $43,713,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its stake in Hershey by 23.3% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 333 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 4,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $792,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 6,007 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,152,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parthenon LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Parthenon LLC now owns 24,240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,649,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HSY. UBS Group cut their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Bernstein Bank cut their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target 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 issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.15.

Read Our Latest Research Report on HSY

Hershey Stock Up 3.3 %

NYSE:HSY opened at $163.08 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $161.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $178.81. The company has a market capitalization of $33.00 billion, a PE ratio of 14.96, a P/E/G ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $140.13 and a 1-year high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSYGet Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 6.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.28%.

Hershey Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Hershey (NYSE:HSY)

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