Ledyard National Bank Trims Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Ledyard National Bank reduced its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,966 shares of the company’s stock after selling 161 shares during the quarter. Ledyard National Bank’s holdings in Hershey were worth $502,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in Hershey by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 30,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,769,000 after purchasing an additional 1,952 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $235,000. Brookstone Capital Management increased its position in Hershey by 5.7% during the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 10,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,938,000 after acquiring an additional 544 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital raised its position in Hershey by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 15,212 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,917,000 after acquiring an additional 822 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group reduced their target price on Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Citigroup raised Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $159.00 to $154.00 in a report on Friday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $166.35.

Hershey Trading Up 1.7 %

HSY stock opened at $154.98 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $164.81 and its 200 day moving average is $180.78. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $211.92. The stock has a market cap of $31.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.85, a PEG ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a return on equity of 43.24% and a net margin of 16.17%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.13%.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.