Bank of New York Mellon Corp Has $164.82 Million Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lowered its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 13.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 973,234 shares of the company’s stock after selling 152,192 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.48% of Hershey worth $164,817,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its position in Hershey by 248.0% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the third quarter valued at $46,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Hershey by 61.7% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, City State Bank lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 210.0% during the 4th quarter. City State Bank now owns 310 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE HSY opened at $172.33 on Friday. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $140.13 and a 1 year high of $211.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.81, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.37. 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 firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $160.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $177.50.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. As a group, research analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HSY has been the topic of a number of research reports. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $178.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their target price on Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.15.

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.