Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Sells 11,793 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lowered its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 220,549 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,793 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned 0.11% of Hershey worth $37,350,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in 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 last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at about $80,978,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Hershey by 66.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company's stock worth $186,571,000 after buying an additional 389,404 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Hershey by 5.6% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,096,767 shares of the company's stock worth $185,743,000 after acquiring an additional 132,019 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on HSY. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Hershey from $183.00 to $177.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $160.45.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value 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 trade represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hershey Price Performance

HSY traded down $4.03 during trading on Friday, hitting $163.10. 2,230,798 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,771,902. The company has a market cap of $33.01 billion, a PE ratio of 14.96, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.28. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $140.13 and a 1 year high of $211.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $168.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $168.89.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.15. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. The company had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.07 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

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.