Bessemer Group Inc. Lowers Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Bessemer Group Inc. cut its position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 188,137 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,279 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $34,237,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,067,235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,469,855,000 after purchasing an additional 191,671 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Hershey by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,253,041 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,356,681,000 after purchasing an additional 128,982 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Hershey by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,614,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,947,000 after purchasing an additional 29,731 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of Hershey by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,605,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $300,333,000 after purchasing an additional 101,305 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Hershey by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,473,427 shares of the company’s stock valued at $275,605,000 after purchasing an additional 52,936 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays reduced 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. Zacks Research lowered Hershey from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Hershey from $185.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $185.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $218.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, insider Rohit Grover sold 3,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total transaction of $791,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 34,568 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,814,787.76. The trade was a 9.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey 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 transaction, 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,000 shares of company stock worth $2,189,090. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hershey Trading Down 1.8%

HSY opened at $186.84 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $37.90 billion, a PE ratio of 34.79, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The business has a 50 day moving average of $202.63 and a 200-day moving average of $196.91. Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $150.04 and a 52 week high of $239.48.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during 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%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.09 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.452 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 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.