TCTC Holdings LLC Reduces Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

TCTC Holdings LLC reduced its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 61.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 216 shares of the company’s stock after selling 342 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $41,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its position in shares of Hershey by 218.2% in the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 55.0% in the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 155 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey during the third quarter worth about $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on HSY. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup cut Hershey from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $195.00 to $182.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Hershey from $200.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Argus lowered shares of Hershey from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Hershey from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $190.56.

Hershey Stock Up 1.6 %

HSY stock opened at $175.67 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $189.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $192.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.52, a PEG ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 0.38. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $171.67 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $2.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.07 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 16.76% and a return on equity of 45.36%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 60.89%.

Insider Activity

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 538 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.17, for a total value of $107,153.46. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,238 shares in the company, valued at $644,912.46. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.