Pittenger & Anderson Inc. Sells 1,006 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. lessened its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,724 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,006 shares during the quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $2,494,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. State Street Corp grew its position in Hershey by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,348,127,000 after purchasing an additional 386,670 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 2.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,387,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $841,476,000 after acquiring an additional 109,336 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 1.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,753,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $717,606,000 after purchasing an additional 35,688 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,571,000 after acquiring an additional 389,404 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 964,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $185,027,000 after buying an additional 29,507 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on HSY. Piper Sandler lowered shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen cut 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.15.

Hershey Trading Down 1.8 %

HSY opened at $157.99 on Monday. The Hershey Company has a one year low of $140.13 and a one year high of $211.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market cap of $31.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.49, a P/E/G ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 0.37. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $162.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $179.24.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 6.77 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.28%.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $41,144.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.