Good Life Advisors LLC Has $536,000 Stock Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Good Life Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 37.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,168 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,884 shares during the period. Good Life Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $536,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 31.4% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,068 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 107.7% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 17,609 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,377,000 after buying an additional 9,129 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Hershey by 22.1% during the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Hershey in the 3rd quarter valued at $288,000. Finally, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI bought a new position in Hershey during the 3rd quarter valued at $554,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Price Performance

HSY opened at $166.12 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $161.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $178.46. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $211.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market capitalization of $33.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.24, a PEG ratio of 5.79 and a beta of 0.37.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. Equities analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.30%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Bernstein Bank reduced their target price on Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $153.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 value 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hershey 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.