Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 42,019 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,008 shares during the period. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $7,116,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Hershey by 66.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,571,000 after purchasing an additional 389,404 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 5.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,348,127,000 after buying an additional 386,670 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,635,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $785,003,000 after buying an additional 247,675 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Hershey by 31.3% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 586,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,491,000 after acquiring an additional 139,831 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at about $18,273,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on HSY. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $178.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Thursday, December 12th. DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.15.

Hershey Trading Up 3.5 %

NYSE HSY opened at $178.77 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $160.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $176.87. The Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $140.13 and a 12 month high of $211.92. 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 company has a market capitalization of $36.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.37.

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, topping 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

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.