MUFG Securities EMEA plc Raises Stake in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

MUFG Securities EMEA plc boosted its position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 114.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,079 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,244 shares during the period. MUFG Securities EMEA plc’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,106,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $466,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $559,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. boosted its position in Hershey by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 1,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. BSW Wealth Partners boosted its position in Hershey by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 1,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $206,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC boosted its position in Hershey by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 1,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $210,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.10, for a total transaction of $291,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 57,695 shares in the company, valued at $11,198,599.50. This trade represents a 2.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HSY has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Evercore upgraded Hershey from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $255.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Hershey from $247.00 to $227.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. TD Cowen upgraded Hershey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Hershey from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $218.06.

Hershey Trading Down 1.2%

Hershey stock opened at $184.12 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $158.67 and a 12 month high of $239.48. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $196.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $198.76. The firm has a market cap of $37.35 billion, a PE ratio of 34.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.09.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.31. Hershey had a return on equity of 28.98% and a net margin of 9.12%.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 prior year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $1.452 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 108.19%.

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.