The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Sold by Carret Asset Management LLC

Carret Asset Management LLC lowered its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 14.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 15,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,700 shares during the quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $2,625,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,337,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,571,000 after purchasing an additional 389,404 shares during the period. Woodstock Corp grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 34.8% during the 4th quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 6,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,168,000 after purchasing an additional 1,780 shares during the period. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,939,000. Finally, Ethos Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Hershey by 59.8% in the 4th quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 3,962 shares of the company’s stock valued at $671,000 after acquiring an additional 1,483 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $153.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.15.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $171.67 on Friday. 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’s fifty day moving average is $162.12 and its 200-day moving average is $176.14. The firm has a market cap of $34.75 billion, a PE ratio of 15.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 week high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. Sell-side analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share 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 issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.