Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC Sells 2,457 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC decreased its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 22.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,616 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,457 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC's holdings in Hershey were worth $1,459,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 31.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 12,460,147 shares of the company's stock worth $2,110,126,000 after acquiring an additional 2,980,997 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 247,675 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,801,145 shares of the company's stock worth $642,139,000 after purchasing an additional 47,394 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Hershey by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,282,681 shares of the company's stock worth $217,222,000 after purchasing an additional 87,498 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,096,767 shares of the company's stock valued at $185,743,000 after purchasing an additional 132,019 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on HSY. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. 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. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $160.45.

Hershey Stock Down 2.4 %

Hershey stock traded down $4.03 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $163.10. The stock had a trading volume of 2,230,798 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,780,667. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.28. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $169.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.15. 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 Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $140.13 and a 1-year high of $211.92.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Hershey's payout ratio is 50.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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.