SPC Financial Inc. Reduces Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

SPC Financial Inc. decreased its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 34.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,100 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,605 shares during the quarter. SPC Financial Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $525,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Crew Capital Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Hershey by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Crew Capital Management Ltd. now owns 6,226 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,054,000 after purchasing an additional 979 shares in the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI lifted its holdings in Hershey by 36.4% during the fourth quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 3,939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $665,000 after purchasing an additional 1,051 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Hershey by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,635,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $785,003,000 after purchasing an additional 247,675 shares in the last quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP purchased a new position in Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $738,000. Finally, Silver Coast Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Hershey by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Silver Coast Investments LLC now owns 3,898 shares of the company’s stock valued at $660,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Up 0.3 %

HSY stock opened at $176.99 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $211.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.37. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $161.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $176.76.

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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target 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. Citigroup raised shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $159.00 to $154.00 in a report on Friday, February 7th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $153.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.15.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $41,144.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.