Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Has $12.02 Million Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lowered its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 49.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 70,985 shares of the company’s stock after selling 68,200 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $12,021,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of Hershey by 31.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 12,460,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,110,126,000 after acquiring an additional 2,980,997 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Hershey by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,635,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $785,003,000 after purchasing an additional 247,675 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Hershey by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,801,145 shares of the company’s stock valued at $642,139,000 after buying an additional 47,394 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,282,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,222,000 after buying an additional 87,498 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,096,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $185,743,000 after acquiring an additional 132,019 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group raised their price target on Hershey from $159.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $183.00 to $177.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Bernstein Bank decreased their price target 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. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $173.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $163.35.

Hershey Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $163.18 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $169.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $169.48. The company has a market capitalization of $33.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.97, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.28. 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.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. On average, analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by 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.