Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Sells 424 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ decreased its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 35,142 shares of the company’s stock after selling 424 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Hershey were worth $5,921,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Avestar Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 6.0% during the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.0% during the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,151 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,563,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 5,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $921,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 5,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $973,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Alpha LLC increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 2,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $506,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on HSY. Bernstein Bank reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup raised shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $159.00 to $154.00 in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $163.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $41,144.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Down 0.9 %

HSY opened at $170.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.96. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $162.15 and its 200 day moving average is $175.86. The stock has a market cap of $34.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released 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 net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.