Hershey Trust Co. Raises Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Hershey Trust Co. increased its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 0.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,066,397 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 278 shares during the quarter. Hershey makes up 3.6% of Hershey Trust Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Hershey Trust Co. owned about 1.02% of Hershey worth $349,944,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 31.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 12,460,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,110,126,000 after buying an additional 2,980,997 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Hershey by 5.6% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,801,145 shares of the company’s stock worth $642,139,000 after purchasing an additional 47,394 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Hershey by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,578,957 shares of the company’s stock valued at $267,396,000 after purchasing an additional 154,238 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Hershey by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,282,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,222,000 after purchasing an additional 87,498 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on HSY shares. Barclays lowered 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $173.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Hershey from $183.00 to $177.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $163.35.

Hershey Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $163.30 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $33.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.28. 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 Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $140.13 and a 1 year high of $211.92. The business has a 50-day moving average of $169.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $169.32.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.36%. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 50.28%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was 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 directly 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.