First Hawaiian Bank Sells 271 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

First Hawaiian Bank reduced its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,591 shares of the company’s stock after selling 271 shares during the quarter. First Hawaiian Bank’s holdings in Hershey were worth $608,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Hershey during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Hershey by 55.0% during the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Hershey during the third quarter valued at about $46,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in Hershey during the third quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Quarry LP raised its holdings in Hershey by 123.9% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on HSY. Barclays decreased their price target on Hershey from $202.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Hershey from $160.00 to $150.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $230.00 to $205.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Hershey from $188.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $182.21.

Hershey Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $158.40 on Friday. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $156.10 and a 1 year high of $211.92. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $174.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $185.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.05 billion, a PE ratio of 18.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.46%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.13%.

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.