Sienna Gestion Purchases Shares of 6,432 Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Sienna Gestion purchased a new stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 6,432 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,166,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Hershey by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,067,235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,469,855,000 after buying an additional 191,671 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Hershey by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 9,106,431 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,657,189,000 after buying an additional 169,660 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Hershey by 1.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,253,041 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,356,681,000 after buying an additional 128,982 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Hershey by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,315,653 shares of the company’s stock valued at $967,343,000 after buying an additional 124,464 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Hershey by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,831,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $876,434,000 after buying an additional 104,024 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY stock opened at $180.94 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $190.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $198.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market cap of $36.70 billion, a PE ratio of 33.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.09. Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $160.07 and a 12 month high of $239.48.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.31. Hershey had a net margin of 9.12% and a return on equity of 28.98%. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a dividend of $1.452 per share. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 108.19%.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.10, for a total transaction of $291,150.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 57,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,198,599.50. This represents a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on HSY shares. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $240.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $211.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Hershey in a research report on Monday, April 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hershey presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $218.06.

Hershey Company Profile

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.