DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main Decreases Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main cut its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 42.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,308 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,398 shares during the quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main's holdings in Hershey were worth $2,423,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Hershey by 31.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 12,460,147 shares of the company's stock worth $2,110,126,000 after purchasing an additional 2,980,997 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at $80,978,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Hershey by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,635,390 shares of the company's stock valued at $785,003,000 after purchasing an additional 247,675 shares during the period. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at $27,902,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Hershey by 10.8% in the 4th 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 period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on HSY. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Hershey from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup cut their price target on Hershey from $173.00 to $165.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays raised their target price on Hershey from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Hershey from $178.00 to $175.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $161.40.

Hershey Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:HSY traded up $2.06 during trading on Thursday, hitting $163.78. The company had a trading volume of 1,230,604 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,766,895. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $167.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $168.12. The Hershey Company has a one year low of $140.13 and a one year high of $209.65. The stock has a market cap of $33.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.81 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. Hershey's quarterly revenue was down 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.07 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio is presently 67.57%.

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.