Hershey Company (The) $HSY Holdings Lifted by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 9.2% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 205,428 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 17,291 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $42,705,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new position in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 123.0% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 165 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related 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 value of $260,145.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 54,695 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 4th. TD Cowen raised shares of Hershey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Hershey to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $190.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Hershey from $212.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $212.56.

Hershey Trading Down 1.8%

NYSE:HSY opened at $171.50 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $34.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.11. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $182.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $197.13. 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.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 9.12% and a return on equity of 28.98%. The company’s revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.09 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 8.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $1.452 dividend. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 108.19%.

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.