Allstate Corp Acquires Shares of 4,471 The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Allstate Corp bought a new position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 4,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $757,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Hershey in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 248.0% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Hershey by 61.7% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 262 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on HSY. Citigroup raised Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $159.00 to $154.00 in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. 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 research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Hershey in a research note on Monday, March 24th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $183.00 price objective on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $162.50.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hershey Price Performance

NYSE:HSY opened at $170.99 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.69, a P/E/G 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 has a fifty day moving average of $164.39 and a 200 day moving average of $173.48. The Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $140.13 and a 52-week high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (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%. On average, research analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.28%.

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.