Parallel Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Parallel Advisors LLC cut its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 14.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,809 shares of the company’s stock after selling 642 shares during the quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $645,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 248.0% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in Hershey during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 100 shares during the period. City State Bank boosted its stake in Hershey by 210.0% during the fourth quarter. City State Bank now owns 310 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new position in Hershey during the fourth quarter worth $54,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bernstein Bank dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $159.00 to $154.00 in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $163.75.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY stock opened at $164.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $162.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $175.30. The company has a market capitalization of $33.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.08, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $140.13 and a 1-year high of $211.92.

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 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 forecast that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were issued 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 3.33%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is currently 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.