PFG Advisors Has $252,000 Stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

PFG Advisors trimmed its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 74.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,487 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,323 shares during the period. PFG Advisors’ holdings in Hershey were worth $252,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter worth about $80,978,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,571,000 after acquiring an additional 389,404 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,348,127,000 after acquiring an additional 386,670 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,635,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $785,003,000 after acquiring an additional 247,675 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 31.3% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 586,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,491,000 after acquiring an additional 139,831 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday. Bernstein Bank reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $178.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup raised shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $159.00 to $154.00 in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $163.75.

Hershey Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $170.32 on Friday. The Hershey Company has a one year low of $140.13 and a one year high of $211.92. The company has a 50 day moving average of $162.15 and a 200-day moving average of $175.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market cap of $34.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.63, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 50.28%.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.