The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Holdings Lowered by Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton

Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton trimmed its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 20.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 300 shares of the company’s stock after selling 78 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton’s holdings in Hershey were worth $51,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the third quarter valued at $1,337,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Hershey by 66.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,571,000 after acquiring an additional 389,404 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Hershey by 61.9% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 120,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,052,000 after acquiring an additional 45,936 shares in the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic lifted its stake in Hershey by 55.6% in the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 8,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,423,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clark & Stuart Inc purchased a new stake in Hershey in the 4th quarter worth about $654,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Hershey from $165.00 to $159.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $230.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Hershey from $160.00 to $150.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Hershey from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Hershey in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued a “sell” rating and a $165.00 target price on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $182.21.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $151.75 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $30.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.48, a P/E/G ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 0.38. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $173.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $185.04. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $150.31 and a 52 week high of $211.92.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.