The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Acquired by IFP Advisors Inc

IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 86.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 12,992 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,021 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in Hershey were worth $2,200,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Hershey by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,348,127,000 after purchasing an additional 386,670 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Hershey by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,387,715 shares of the company’s stock worth $841,476,000 after acquiring an additional 109,336 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Hershey by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,753,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $717,606,000 after acquiring an additional 35,688 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Hershey by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,571,000 after acquiring an additional 389,404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in Hershey by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 964,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $185,027,000 after acquiring an additional 29,507 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on HSY shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Piper Sandler lowered shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $153.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.15.

Hershey Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $178.59 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $36.14 billion, a PE ratio of 16.38, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.37. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $160.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $177.58. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.28%.

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.