Hershey Company (The) $HSY Position Lowered by Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund trimmed its position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 67,419 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,000 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Hershey were worth $12,269,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Hershey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Close Asset Management Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 339.3% in the 3rd quarter. Close Asset Management Ltd now owns 246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.10, for a total transaction of $291,150.00. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HSY. Stephens raised their price objective on Hershey from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $240.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Hershey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $218.06.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of HSY opened at $184.42 on Friday. Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $160.07 and a 12 month high of $239.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $194.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $198.75. The company has a market cap of $37.41 billion, a P/E 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.09 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $1.452 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 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.