BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Sells 63,496 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S trimmed its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 92.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,016 shares of the company’s stock after selling 63,496 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S’s holdings in Hershey were worth $976,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Hershey by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,182,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,830,683,000 after buying an additional 271,636 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Hershey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $349,448,000. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Hershey by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Asset Management Inc. now owns 781,967 shares of the company’s stock worth $151,715,000 after acquiring an additional 112,304 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Hershey by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 777,761 shares of the company’s stock valued at $145,006,000 after purchasing an additional 19,018 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 748,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $139,503,000 after purchasing an additional 89,586 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.93, for a total transaction of $274,395.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 35,728 shares in the company, valued at $6,535,723.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,500 shares of company stock valued at $859,950. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on HSY shares. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $179.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Barclays dropped their price objective on Hershey from $210.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Edward Jones reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $213.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, March 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $209.67.

Hershey Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE:HSY traded up $0.22 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $182.97. 282,490 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,859,382. The business has a 50-day moving average of $193.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $192.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.97. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $178.82 and a 12-month high of $248.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.00 billion, a PE ratio of 18.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.14 and a beta of 0.36.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $3.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 50.15% and a net margin of 18.13%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.96 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th were paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.31%.

About Hershey

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.