Hershey Company (The) $HSY Shares Acquired by Prudential PLC

Prudential PLC lifted its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 237.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 7,988 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,620 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,454,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Hershey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $272,506,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Hershey by 240.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,262,671 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,183,000 after buying an additional 891,287 shares during the period. Candlestick Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Hershey during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $64,469,000. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Hershey during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,464,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Hershey by 20.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,137,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $206,926,000 after buying an additional 195,500 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 value of $291,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 57,695 shares in the company, valued at $11,198,599.50. This represents a 2.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on HSY shares. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $215.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Hershey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research cut shares of Hershey from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $211.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $218.06.

Hershey Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $184.42 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $194.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $198.89. Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $160.07 and a 12-month high of $239.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market cap of $37.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.34, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.09.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.09 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $1.452 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 108.19%.

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.