The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Sold by Global Trust Asset Management LLC

Global Trust Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 63.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 400 shares of the company’s stock after selling 700 shares during the quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $68,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 5.8% in 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. lifted its position in Hershey by 2.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,387,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $841,476,000 after acquiring an additional 109,336 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 1.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,753,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $717,606,000 after acquiring an additional 35,688 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 66.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,571,000 after purchasing an additional 389,404 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Hershey by 3.2% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 964,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $185,027,000 after purchasing an additional 29,507 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $183.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $230.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $165.00 to $159.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Hershey in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set a “sell” rating and a $165.00 target price for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $175.00.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE:HSY opened at $151.18 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $150.31 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $170.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $183.96. The stock has a market cap of $30.59 billion, a PE ratio of 17.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 0.38.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.13%.

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.