Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC Lowers Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC trimmed its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 9.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,023 shares of the company’s stock after selling 702 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,189,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mengis Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc. now owns 27,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,583,000 after buying an additional 670 shares in the last quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 5,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $988,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 86.4% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 12,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,200,000 after acquiring an additional 6,021 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at $1,692,000. Finally, Wealthspire Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 5,949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,007,000 after purchasing an additional 516 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on HSY. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays reduced their price objective on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Citigroup raised Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $159.00 to $154.00 in a research note 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.15.

Hershey Stock Up 3.0 %

NYSE:HSY opened at $178.12 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $36.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.37. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $211.92. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $160.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $177.74.

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%. Analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

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. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.28%.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hershey 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.