10,143 Shares in Hershey Company (The) $HSY Purchased by ABN Amro Investment Solutions

ABN Amro Investment Solutions purchased a new position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 10,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,109,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Hershey by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,067,235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,469,855,000 after buying an additional 191,671 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its stake in Hershey by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 9,106,431 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,657,189,000 after acquiring an additional 169,660 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised 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 worth $1,356,681,000 after purchasing an additional 128,982 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Hershey by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,315,653 shares of the company’s stock valued at $967,343,000 after purchasing an additional 124,464 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Hershey by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,831,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $876,434,000 after acquiring an additional 104,024 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hershey Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $174.43 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $35.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $161.43 and a 12-month high of $239.48. The business’s 50 day moving average is $180.34 and its 200-day moving average is $196.79.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.09 earnings per share. Hershey’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 8.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were given a dividend of $1.452 per share. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 108.19%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.43, for a total transaction of $260,145.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 54,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,485,753.85. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $204.00 to $191.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $190.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Hershey from $247.00 to $227.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $208.28.

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.