EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC Decreases Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 75.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 560 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,728 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $95,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HSY. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at about $80,978,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 5.8% during the 3rd 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. boosted its holdings in Hershey by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,635,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $785,003,000 after buying an additional 247,675 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Hershey by 31.3% in the 3rd 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. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $178.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. DA Davidson lowered their price target 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. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Five investment 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 company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $163.75.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at $396,936. This trade represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $169.26 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $34.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.53, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $162.29 and its 200 day moving average is $175.43. 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 1-year low of $140.13 and a 1-year high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.24%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.28%.

Hershey Company 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.