Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. Decreases Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. reduced its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 45.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,531 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,400 shares during the quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $2,291,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Hershey by 248.0% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Hershey by 61.7% in the 4th 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. City State Bank grew its position in shares of Hershey by 210.0% in the fourth quarter. City State Bank now owns 310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the third quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on HSY. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $163.75.

Hershey Price Performance

HSY stock opened at $169.26 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $34.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.53, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $162.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $175.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $396,936. This trade represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.