PFG Advisors Has $252,000 Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

PFG Advisors lowered its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 74.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,487 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,323 shares during the period. PFG Advisors’ holdings in Hershey were worth $252,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $80,978,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 389,404 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Hershey by 5.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,348,127,000 after buying an additional 386,670 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Hershey by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,635,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $785,003,000 after buying an additional 247,675 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Hershey by 31.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 586,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,491,000 after buying an additional 139,831 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

NYSE:HSY opened at $170.32 on Friday. The Hershey Company has a one year low of $140.13 and a one year high of $211.92. The company has a market cap of $34.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.63, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $162.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $175.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities 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 was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on HSY shares. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. DA Davidson cut their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Bernstein Bank cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $163.75.

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.