Forte Capital LLC ADV Cuts Stock Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Forte Capital LLC ADV decreased its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 21.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,409 shares of the company’s stock after selling 665 shares during the period. Forte Capital LLC ADV’s holdings in Hershey were worth $408,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of HSY. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in Hershey by 22.4% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 93,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,835,000 after purchasing an additional 17,092 shares during the last quarter. Parthenon LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Parthenon LLC now owns 24,615 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,169,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 7,975 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,351,000 after purchasing an additional 932 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 70.2% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 46,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,815,000 after purchasing an additional 19,038 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,240 shares of the company’s stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $41,144.00. Following the completion of 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 transaction 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 company insiders.

Hershey Price Performance

Hershey stock opened at $173.03 on Friday. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 week high of $211.92. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $160.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $178.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market cap of $35.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.87, a PEG ratio of 5.82 and a beta of 0.37.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 50.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HSY has been the topic of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler cut Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Bernstein Bank lowered their target price on Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $164.15.

About Hershey

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.