The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Bought by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 19.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 260,554 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 42,499 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $44,125,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Grove Bank & Trust grew its holdings in Hershey by 248.0% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its position in Hershey by 61.7% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 262 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on HSY. Bernstein Bank cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Hershey in a research note on Monday, March 24th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $183.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Piper Sandler lowered Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell 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 $162.50.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $41,144.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hershey Stock Down 2.8 %

NYSE:HSY opened at $162.12 on Friday. The Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $140.13 and a 1-year high of $211.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.87, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $165.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $172.88.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

Hershey Profile

The Hershey Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of confectionery products and pantry items in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: North America Confectionery, North America Salty Snacks, and International. It offers chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery products; gum and mint refreshment products, including mints, chewing gums, and bubble gums; protein bars; pantry items, such as baking ingredients, toppings, beverages, and sundae syrups; and snack items comprising spreads, bars, snack bites, mixes, popcorn, and pretzels.