DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main Sells 10,398 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main cut its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 42.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 14,308 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,398 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main’s holdings in Hershey were worth $2,423,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of HSY. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Hershey by 31.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 12,460,147 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,110,126,000 after purchasing an additional 2,980,997 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at about $80,978,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,635,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $785,003,000 after acquiring an additional 247,675 shares during the period. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in Hershey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,902,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Hershey by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,578,957 shares of the company’s stock worth $267,396,000 after acquiring an additional 154,238 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of HSY stock opened at $171.00 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $34.61 billion, a PE ratio of 15.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $140.13 and a 1 year high of $211.92. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $168.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $168.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.81 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. Hershey’s quarterly revenue was down 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.07 EPS. Research analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on HSY shares. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays increased their target price on Hershey from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Piper Sandler cut Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $153.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Hershey from $178.00 to $175.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Hershey presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $161.40.

About Hershey

The Hershey Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of confectionery products and pantry items in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: North America Confectionery, North America Salty Snacks, and International. It offers chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery products; gum and mint refreshment products, including mints, chewing gums, and bubble gums; protein bars; pantry items, such as baking ingredients, toppings, beverages, and sundae syrups; and snack items comprising spreads, bars, snack bites, mixes, popcorn, and pretzels.