Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 26,296 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 679,548 shares of the company’s stock after selling 26,296 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.34% of Hershey worth $127,111,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC bought a new position in Hershey in the second quarter valued at approximately $224,000. Liberty One Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 32.4% in the 3rd quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 38,076 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,122,000 after purchasing an additional 9,309 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 58,078 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,695,000 after purchasing an additional 2,659 shares during the last quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. now owns 113,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,276,000 after buying an additional 7,064 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 42,538 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,957,000 after buying an additional 2,573 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.67, for a total transaction of $298,005.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 52,319 shares in the company, valued at $10,394,215.73. This trade represents a 2.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kirk Tanner acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $185.46 per share, for a total transaction of $370,920.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 47,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,876,115.60. The trade was a 4.36% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 6,000 shares of company stock worth $1,119,450. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $197.84 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $187.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $184.90. Hershey Company has a one year low of $140.13 and a one year high of $201.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.57 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Hershey from $187.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Argus upgraded shares of Hershey to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $182.00 target price on shares of Hershey and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $194.32.

About Hershey

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is a leading North American chocolatier and snack manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The company develops, produces and markets a wide range of confectionery and snack products for retail, foodservice and international customers. Hershey’s business spans manufacturing, branded product marketing, packaging and distribution across grocery, convenience, mass merchant and e-commerce channels.

Hershey’s product portfolio centers on chocolate and sugar confectionery, including core brands such as Hershey’s, Reese’s, Hershey’s Kisses and Twizzlers, alongside non-chocolate snacks and confectionery brands.