Covington Investment Advisors Inc. Reduces Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Covington Investment Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 15.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,651 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,940 shares during the quarter. Covington Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $4,683,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,348,127,000 after acquiring an additional 386,670 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Hershey by 5.6% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,753,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $717,606,000 after purchasing an additional 35,688 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position 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 valued at $186,571,000 after acquiring an additional 389,404 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in Hershey by 3.2% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 964,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $185,027,000 after purchasing an additional 29,507 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hershey Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $170.79 on Friday. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 week high of $211.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.67, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $163.69 and its 200 day moving average is $174.28.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 EPS 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on HSY. DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Bernstein Bank cut their price objective on Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Piper Sandler lowered shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $162.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.