Sei Investments Co. Decreases Stock Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Sei Investments Co. reduced its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 9.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 65,272 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,553 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $11,054,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A now owns 3,240 shares of the company’s stock worth $549,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in Hershey by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 5,438 shares of the company’s stock worth $921,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Waterfront Wealth Inc. boosted its stake in Hershey by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 5,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $973,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Hershey by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. now owns 3,987 shares of the company’s stock valued at $675,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Alpha LLC grew its position in shares of Hershey by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 2,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $506,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE:HSY opened at $169.87 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $34.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.58, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. 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 business’s 50-day moving average price is $164.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $173.84. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Piper Sandler cut Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $162.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $396,936. This trade represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.