Equity Investment Corp Has $102.67 Million Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Equity Investment Corp boosted its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 564,201 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,576 shares during the period. Hershey accounts for approximately 2.1% of Equity Investment Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Equity Investment Corp’s holdings in Hershey were worth $102,673,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. RKL Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Hershey by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,399 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,347,000 after buying an additional 392 shares during the period. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd increased its position in Hershey by 82.2% in the 4th quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 26,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,841,000 after buying an additional 12,000 shares during the period. William Allan Corp increased its position in Hershey by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. William Allan Corp now owns 19,242 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,502,000 after buying an additional 775 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC increased its position in Hershey by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 327,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,644,000 after buying an additional 17,613 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance LLC increased its position in Hershey by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 24,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,422,000 after buying an additional 1,441 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY opened at $181.34 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $36.78 billion, a PE ratio of 33.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.09. 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 1 year low of $160.07 and a 1 year high of $239.48. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $191.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $198.72.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $1.452 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 108.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on HSY. BTIG Research began coverage on Hershey in a research report on Monday, April 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. DA Davidson dropped their price target on Hershey from $230.00 to $208.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Hershey from $211.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. 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, Barclays lowered their price objective on Hershey from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $218.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.10, for a total value of $291,150.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 57,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,198,599.50. The trade was a 2.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.