CreativeOne Wealth LLC Has $1.10 Million Stock Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

CreativeOne Wealth LLC lowered its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 21.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,501 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,809 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,101,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 49.1% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,993 shares of the company’s stock worth $958,000 after acquiring an additional 1,645 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in Hershey by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 34,468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,610,000 after purchasing an additional 1,195 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 83.1% in the third quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 14,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,717,000 after buying an additional 6,433 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 86.8% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 1,156 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 537 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 3.1% during the third quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 8,249 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,582,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were 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 $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on HSY shares. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Hershey from $173.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $178.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $163.05.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY opened at $164.42 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $168.38 and a 200-day moving average of $170.93. The company has a market cap of $33.28 billion, a PE ratio of 15.08, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.28. 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 Hershey Company has a one year low of $140.13 and a one year high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.28%.

About Hershey

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.