Palisade Asset Management LLC Cuts Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Palisade Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 13.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 47,697 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,612 shares during the quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $8,680,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HSY. PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators bought a new stake in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at $9,633,000. Prudential PLC raised its position in Hershey by 237.3% during the 4th quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 7,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,454,000 after purchasing an additional 5,620 shares in the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial raised its position in Hershey by 38,266.7% during the 4th quarter. Friedenthal Financial now owns 5,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 5,740 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at $2,744,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Hershey by 833.3% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 185,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,940,000 after purchasing an additional 165,458 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction of $291,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 57,695 shares in the company, 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 link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hershey Trading Down 0.1%

HSY opened at $181.50 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $36.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.80, a PEG ratio of 1.09 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 12 month low of $160.07 and a 12 month high of $239.48. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $191.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $198.68.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on HSY shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Hershey from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays reduced their price target on Hershey from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Evercore raised Hershey from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $255.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Hershey from $247.00 to $227.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Hershey from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.