Korea Investment CORP Decreases Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Korea Investment CORP lowered its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 75.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,489 shares of the company’s stock after selling 120,838 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Hershey were worth $6,687,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in Hershey by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,348,127,000 after buying an additional 386,670 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,635,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $785,003,000 after acquiring an additional 247,675 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,753,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $717,606,000 after acquiring an additional 35,688 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Hershey by 66.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,571,000 after purchasing an additional 389,404 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in Hershey by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 964,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $185,027,000 after purchasing an additional 29,507 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the company’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 sale, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on HSY shares. Piper Sandler lowered Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $162.50.

Hershey Stock Up 0.7 %

HSY stock opened at $170.99 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $34.61 billion, a PE ratio of 15.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $164.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $173.48. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week 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.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.28%.

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.