Comerica Bank Decreases Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Comerica Bank trimmed its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 50,376 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,556 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank's holdings in Hershey were worth $8,531,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Utah Retirement Systems grew its stake in Hershey by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 24,294 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,114,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 232.6% in the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 6,665 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,129,000 after purchasing an additional 4,661 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Hershey by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,578,957 shares of the company's stock valued at $267,396,000 after purchasing an additional 154,238 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Hershey by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 96,606 shares of the company's stock worth $16,360,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Hershey by 95.1% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,270 shares of the company's stock valued at $554,000 after buying an additional 1,594 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group cut their price target on Hershey from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $173.00 to $165.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $178.00 to $175.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $161.40.

Hershey Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:HSY traded down $1.13 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $168.88. 2,195,273 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,772,844. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $211.92. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $168.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $168.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market cap of $34.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.81 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. Hershey's revenue for the quarter was down 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.07 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Hershey's payout ratio is 67.57%.

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.