Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV Reduces Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV decreased its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 21.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 762 shares of the company’s stock after selling 207 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV’s holdings in Hershey were worth $129,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 15.8% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 24,222 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,645,000 after buying an additional 3,311 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its stake in Hershey by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 11,634 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,232,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in Hershey in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,337,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the 3rd quarter worth $60,000. Finally, Commerce Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 31.9% during the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 9,436 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,810,000 after purchasing an additional 2,281 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. 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 MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $163.75.

Hershey Trading Down 1.8 %

NYSE HSY opened at $164.33 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $33.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.08, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $162.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $175.30. 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 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 week 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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. Equities research analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.