Wellington Management Group LLP Has $215,000 Stock Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Wellington Management Group LLP decreased its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 74.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,271 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,722 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Hershey were worth $215,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $80,978,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Hershey by 66.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,571,000 after acquiring an additional 389,404 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Hershey by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,635,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $785,003,000 after purchasing an additional 247,675 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Hershey during the 4th quarter worth about $21,439,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at about $18,273,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $41,144.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE HSY opened at $168.16 on Wednesday. The Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $140.13 and a 52-week high of $211.92. The stock has a market cap of $34.04 billion, a PE ratio of 15.43, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.28. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $168.19 and a 200-day moving average of $170.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.96.

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 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on HSY. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays lowered their target price on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Hershey from $173.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $163.05.

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.