Moran Wealth Management LLC Cuts Stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Moran Wealth Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 85,121 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,343 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $14,415,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,348,127,000 after purchasing an additional 386,670 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,635,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $785,003,000 after acquiring an additional 247,675 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,753,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $717,606,000 after purchasing an additional 35,688 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Hershey by 66.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,571,000 after acquiring an additional 389,404 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Hershey by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 964,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $185,027,000 after buying an additional 29,507 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on HSY. Citigroup raised shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $159.00 to $154.00 in a report on Friday, February 7th. TD Cowen lowered 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. UBS Group cut their price objective on Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $164.15.

Hershey Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $185.11 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a 50-day moving average of $161.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $176.40. The Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $140.13 and a 1-year high of $211.92. The company has a market cap of $37.47 billion, a PE ratio of 16.98, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results 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 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.28%.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.