Appleton Partners Inc. MA Sells 6,734 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Appleton Partners Inc. MA cut its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 23.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 22,081 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,734 shares during the period. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in Hershey were worth $3,739,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Hershey by 30,461.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 573,643 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,100,130,000 after purchasing an additional 571,766 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 66.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,571,000 after purchasing an additional 389,404 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,348,127,000 after buying an additional 386,670 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 31.3% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 586,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,491,000 after buying an additional 139,831 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Hershey by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,387,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $841,476,000 after buying an additional 109,336 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays cut their price objective on Hershey from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group reduced their price target 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. Bernstein Bank dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $178.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler cut Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $153.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $166.35.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY stock opened at $154.98 on Friday. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $211.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company has a market cap of $31.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.38. The business’s fifty day moving average is $164.81 and its 200-day moving average is $180.78.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a return on equity of 43.24% and a net margin of 16.17%. Equities research analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.06 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 63.13%.

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.