Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Sells 10,300 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund reduced its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 14.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 60,819 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,300 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Hershey were worth $10,300,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Hershey during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 248.0% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of Hershey by 61.7% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 262 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Hershey during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, City State Bank lifted its holdings in Hershey by 210.0% in the 4th quarter. City State Bank now owns 310 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY stock opened at $173.03 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market cap of $35.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.87, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.37. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $160.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $177.91. The Hershey Company has a one year low of $140.13 and a one year high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. Hershey’s payout ratio is 50.28%.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. 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, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.15.

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.