Capital International Investors Buys 169,660 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Capital International Investors lifted its position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,106,431 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 169,660 shares during the quarter. Capital International Investors’ holdings in Hershey were worth $1,657,189,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.0% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Hershey by 1.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,253,041 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,356,681,000 after acquiring an additional 128,982 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,831,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $876,434,000 after acquiring an additional 104,024 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Hershey by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,614,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $301,947,000 after buying an additional 29,731 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in Hershey by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,605,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $300,333,000 after buying an additional 101,305 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hershey Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $184.42 on Friday. 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 $160.07 and a 52-week high of $239.48. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $194.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $198.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.34, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.09.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $1.452 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 108.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the topic of several analyst reports. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Hershey from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Stephens lifted their target price on Hershey from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $240.00 price objective on Hershey in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Hershey from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $218.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.10, for a total transaction of $291,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 57,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,198,599.50. The trade was a 2.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

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.