Securian Asset Management Inc. Sells 209 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Securian Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,896 shares of the company’s stock after selling 209 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,337,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Avestar Capital LLC grew its stake in Hershey by 6.0% in the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Hershey by 1.0% in the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,151 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,563,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in Hershey by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 5,438 shares of the company’s stock worth $921,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. grew its stake in Hershey by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 5,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $973,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Alpha LLC grew its stake in Hershey by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 2,988 shares of the company’s stock worth $506,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on HSY. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group lowered their target price on Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Bernstein Bank lowered their target price on Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $163.75.

Hershey Price Performance

NYSE HSY opened at $170.32 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $162.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $175.96. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $140.13 and a 1 year high of $211.92. The company has a market cap of $34.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.63, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 50.28%.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related 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 value of $41,144.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.