Hershey Company (The) $HSY Shares Bought by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 24.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 76,444 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,231 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Hershey were worth $13,911,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds 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 period. 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 period. 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 period. 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 period. 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 period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.10, for a total transaction of $291,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 57,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,198,599.50. The trade was a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Jason Reiman sold 2,000 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total value of $452,140.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 41,036 shares in the company, valued at $9,277,008.52. This represents a 4.65% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 8,500 shares of company stock worth $1,859,600 in the last three months. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $190.49 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $38.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.47, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.07. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $200.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $197.51. Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $150.04 and a 52-week high of $239.48.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued 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 business had revenue of $3.10 billion for 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a $1.452 dividend. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 108.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group lowered their price target on Hershey from $215.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Hershey from $185.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Hershey in a research report on Monday, April 13th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Hershey from $211.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Hershey from $247.00 to $227.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $217.78.

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.