Geode Capital Management LLC Has $876.43 Million Stock Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,831,101 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 104,024 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $876,434,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Hershey by 240.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,262,671 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,183,000 after purchasing an additional 891,287 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 121.2% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,104,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $206,559,000 after purchasing an additional 605,048 shares during the last quarter. Candlestick Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $64,469,000. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,464,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Hershey by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,067,235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,469,855,000 after acquiring an additional 191,671 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $215.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of Hershey in a research report on Monday, April 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Evercore raised shares of Hershey from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $255.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Hershey from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $218.06.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.10, for a total value of $291,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 57,695 shares of the company’s stock, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Price Performance

Hershey stock opened at $194.19 on Friday. Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $154.37 and a 12 month high of $239.48. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $197.45 and its 200-day moving average is $198.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $39.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.16, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.07.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.31. Hershey had a return on equity of 28.98% and a net margin of 9.12%.The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.09 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given 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 of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 108.19%.

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.