Hershey Company (The) $HSY Shares Acquired by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 7.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 434,900 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 29,000 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Hershey were worth $90,411,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at $272,506,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Hershey by 546.6% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,057,476 shares of the company’s stock worth $192,439,000 after purchasing an additional 893,940 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 150.1% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,278,881 shares of the company’s stock valued at $232,731,000 after purchasing an additional 767,478 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hershey by 4,478.5% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 586,141 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,666,000 after purchasing an additional 573,339 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Readystate Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter worth about $72,001,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Up 0.0%

Hershey stock opened at $171.48 on Tuesday. Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $161.43 and a 52 week high of $239.48. The stock has a market cap of $34.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.93, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.11. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $181.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $197.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.31. The company 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 8.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 108.19%.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.43, for a total value of $260,145.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 54,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,485,753.85. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HSY has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group set a $190.00 target price on Hershey in a research report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Hershey from $212.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Hershey from $249.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. DA Davidson raised shares of Hershey to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $212.56.

Hershey 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.