SEB Asset Management AB Takes $26.79 Million Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

SEB Asset Management AB purchased a new position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 128,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,791,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in HSY. Syon Capital LLC grew its stake in Hershey by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 3,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $550,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Haverford Trust Co raised its position in Hershey by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 6,796 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,237,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 8,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,462,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.43, for a total transaction of $260,145.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 54,695 shares in the company, valued at $9,485,753.85. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on HSY. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $212.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered Hershey from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Barclays lowered their target price on Hershey from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 4th. Zacks Research cut Hershey from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $212.56.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE:HSY opened at $171.50 on Monday. 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 firm has a market cap of $34.79 billion, a PE ratio of 31.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.11. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $182.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $197.24. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $161.43 and a 1-year high of $239.48.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 9.12% and a return on equity of 28.98%. Hershey’s revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.09 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 8.42 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $1.452 per share. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.