Hsbc Holdings PLC Grows Stake in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 303,323 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,758 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.15% of Hershey worth $55,242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. Mengis Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Hershey by 19.7% during the 4th quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc. now owns 27,475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,000,000 after purchasing an additional 4,525 shares during the last quarter. SHP Wealth Management purchased a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth about $52,000. Employees Provident Fund Board purchased a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth about $4,913,000. Reflection Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Sankala Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter worth approximately $394,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on HSY shares. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Hershey from $247.00 to $227.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Hershey from $211.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Hershey from $212.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $218.06.

Hershey Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE:HSY opened at $171.10 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $34.71 billion, a PE ratio of 31.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.09. 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 50 day simple moving average of $187.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $198.23. Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $160.07 and a 12 month high of $239.48.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a $1.452 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 108.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.43, for a total value of $260,145.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 54,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,485,753.85. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Company 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.