Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Lowers Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 91.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 23,418 shares of the company’s stock after selling 256,371 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $4,366,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of HSY. Wealth Alliance grew its stake in Hershey by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 1,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $212,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. increased its stake in Hershey by 1,263.3% in the fourth quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 15,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,816,000 after acquiring an additional 13,997 shares during the last quarter. Reliant Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,173,000. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 78,757.1% in the 4th quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 5,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 5,513 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 94.7% during the 4th quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 17,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,237,000 after purchasing an additional 8,500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.83, for a total transaction of $278,745.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,728 shares in the company, valued at $7,196,824.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Hershey from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $213.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $212.78.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY stock opened at $197.92 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.62, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.33. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $191.93 and a 200 day moving average of $190.76. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $178.82 and a 52 week high of $275.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.33. Hershey had a net margin of 18.13% and a return on equity of 50.15%. The firm had revenue of $3.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.11 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.96 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.31%.

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.