Cassia Capital Partners LLC Has $236,000 Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Cassia Capital Partners LLC lessened its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 53.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,394 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,605 shares during the quarter. Cassia Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $236,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 5,646 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,083,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 23.3% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.6% during the third quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 4,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $792,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Hershey by 6.0% during the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northstar Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Northstar Group Inc. now owns 2,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $429,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at $396,936. This trade represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Hershey from $165.00 to $159.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $169.79.

Hershey Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of HSY opened at $144.78 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $29.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.38. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $143.95 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92. The business has a 50-day moving average of $166.37 and a 200 day moving average of $181.55.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.79%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 63.13%.

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.