Choreo LLC Has $379,000 Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Choreo LLC cut its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 34.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,243 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,162 shares during the period. Choreo LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $379,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 23.3% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 333 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its holdings in Hershey by 1.6% during the third quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 4,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $792,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Hershey by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 1,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Massachusetts Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 6,007 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,152,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parthenon LLC raised its position in shares of Hershey by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Parthenon LLC now owns 24,240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,649,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Bernstein Bank cut their price objective on Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Hershey from $150.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $178.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $164.15.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Down 0.1 %

HSY opened at $158.13 on Thursday. 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 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market cap of $32.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.51, a PEG ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 0.37. The company’s 50 day moving average is $163.49 and its 200-day moving average is $179.86.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.47%. 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.