J. W. Coons Advisors LLC Sells 85 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

J. W. Coons Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,240 shares of the company’s stock after selling 85 shares during the quarter. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $210,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp raised its stake in Hershey by 5.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,348,127,000 after acquiring an additional 386,670 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Hershey by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,387,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $841,476,000 after purchasing an additional 109,336 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Hershey by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,753,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $717,606,000 after purchasing an additional 35,688 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Hershey by 66.7% in the 3rd 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 boosted its position in Hershey by 3.2% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 964,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $185,027,000 after buying an additional 29,507 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Bernstein Bank dropped their price target on Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $164.15.

Hershey Trading Up 3.0 %

NYSE HSY opened at $178.12 on Tuesday. The Hershey Company has a one year low of $140.13 and a one year high of $211.92. 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 simple moving average of $160.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $177.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.34, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.37.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 EPS 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%. Research analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.34% 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.