First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY – Free Report) by 315.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,083,675 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 822,772 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Hershey were worth $225,285,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter worth about $272,506,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 546.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 150.1% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,278,881 shares of the company’s stock worth $232,731,000 after purchasing an additional 767,478 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 4,478.5% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 586,141 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,666,000 after purchasing an additional 573,339 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Readystate Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $72,001,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $215.00 to $180.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen raised shares of Hershey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target 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. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Hershey from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $209.94.
Hershey Stock Up 1.0%
Hershey stock opened at $172.31 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.24. Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $161.43 and a 52-week high of $239.48. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $180.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $197.01. The firm has a market cap of $34.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.09, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.11.
Hershey (NYSE:HSY – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.31. Hershey had a net margin of 9.12% and a return on equity of 28.98%. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 8.42 EPS for the current year.
Hershey Dividend Announcement
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $1.452 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 108.19%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,485,753.85. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.
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.
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