Fifth Third Bancorp Sells 8,221 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Fifth Third Bancorp lessened its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 13.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,868 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,221 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Hershey were worth $8,784,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HSY. State Street Corp increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 386,670 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Hershey by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,387,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $841,476,000 after buying an additional 109,336 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,753,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $717,606,000 after buying an additional 35,688 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised 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 valued at $186,571,000 after acquiring an additional 389,404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in Hershey by 3.2% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 964,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $185,027,000 after acquiring an additional 29,507 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Up 0.4 %

Hershey stock opened at $150.54 on Monday. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $147.60 and a 12-month high of $211.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.34, a P/E/G ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $169.13 and a 200 day moving average of $183.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on HSY. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Mizuho dropped their price target on Hershey from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Hershey from $168.00 to $153.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $171.79.

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.