Hershey Company (The) $HSY Shares Purchased by Focus Partners Wealth

Focus Partners Wealth boosted its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 24.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 262,119 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 52,213 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Wealth’s holdings in Hershey were worth $47,720,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at $272,506,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in Hershey by 546.6% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,057,476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $192,439,000 after purchasing an additional 893,940 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Hershey by 240.0% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,262,671 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,183,000 after purchasing an additional 891,287 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Hershey by 41.4% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,331,730 shares of the company’s stock worth $242,348,000 after acquiring an additional 390,058 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Candlestick Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Hershey during the third quarter worth about $64,469,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $11,198,599.50. This represents a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $180.94 on Tuesday. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $160.07 and a 1-year high of $239.48. The business has a 50-day moving average of $190.87 and a 200-day moving average of $198.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company has a market capitalization of $36.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.69, a PEG ratio of 1.09 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 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 company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.09 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on HSY shares. Mizuho dropped their price target on Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Hershey from $247.00 to $227.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. TD Cowen upgraded Hershey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $249.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $218.06.

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.