Wealth Alliance Sells 1,732 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Wealth Alliance trimmed its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 56.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,343 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,732 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance’s holdings in Hershey were worth $227,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of HSY. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 248.0% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 61.7% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, City State Bank boosted its holdings in Hershey by 210.0% in the 4th quarter. City State Bank now owns 310 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on HSY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $178.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hershey Trading Up 4.2 %

Shares of HSY stock opened at $173.03 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $35.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $160.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $178.21. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. Equities analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

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.