Atria Investments Inc Decreases Stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Atria Investments Inc reduced its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 43.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,801 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,076 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in Hershey were worth $3,523,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of HSY. CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Hershey during the third quarter worth about $719,000. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in Hershey by 3.7% during the third quarter. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 26,139 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,013,000 after purchasing an additional 936 shares during the period. Markel Group Inc. raised its stake in Hershey by 67.4% during the third quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 36,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,904,000 after purchasing an additional 14,500 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Hershey by 2.4% during the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $828,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Hershey by 125.5% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 13,121 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,516,000 after purchasing an additional 7,302 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hershey Trading Up 2.8 %

NYSE HSY opened at $185.11 on Friday. 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 52 week low of $140.13 and a 52 week high of $211.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.47 billion, a PE ratio of 16.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $161.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $176.54.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. As a group, research analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on HSY. Bernstein Bank reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. 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 note on Monday, February 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.15.

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.