Global Retirement Partners LLC Has $379,000 Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,240 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 107 shares during the quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $379,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,337,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Hershey by 66.7% during the third 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 last quarter. Woodstock Corp raised its position in shares of Hershey by 34.8% in the fourth quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 6,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,168,000 after purchasing an additional 1,780 shares during the period. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,939,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 61.9% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 120,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,052,000 after buying an additional 45,936 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Trading Up 4.2 %

Shares of HSY stock opened at $173.03 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $35.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.87, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.37. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $160.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $177.91. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. Research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on HSY. Citigroup upgraded 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler downgraded Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.15.

Insider Activity

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the business’s 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 directly owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.