Lake Street Advisors Group LLC Has $310,000 Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Lake Street Advisors Group LLC lessened its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 8.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,828 shares of the company’s stock after selling 161 shares during the quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $310,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Integrated Advisors Network LLC boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 2,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $455,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the 3rd quarter worth about $227,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 23.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,234 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 4,393 shares of the company’s stock worth $842,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 31.2% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 2,298 shares of the company’s stock worth $428,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were 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. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on HSY shares. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $178.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays dropped 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. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $159.00 to $154.00 in a research report on Friday, February 7th. 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 price target of $164.15.

Hershey Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of HSY stock opened at $172.68 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $160.58 and a 200-day moving average of $177.32. 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 Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $211.92. The firm has a market cap of $34.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.84, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.37.

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, 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

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

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.