The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Purchased by Baillie Gifford & Co.

Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 27.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 183,716 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 39,951 shares during the quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned 0.09% of Hershey worth $31,112,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of HSY. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 30,461.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 573,643 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,100,130,000 after buying an additional 571,766 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Hershey by 66.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company's stock valued at $186,571,000 after purchasing an additional 389,404 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Hershey by 5.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,348,127,000 after buying an additional 386,670 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Hershey by 31.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 586,565 shares of the company's stock valued at $112,491,000 after buying an additional 139,831 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Hershey by 2.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,387,715 shares of the company's stock valued at $841,476,000 after buying an additional 109,336 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HSY has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bernstein Bank dropped their price target on Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Mizuho dropped their price target on Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered Hershey from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $164.15.

Hershey Trading Up 4.2 %

Shares of NYSE HSY traded up $6.93 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $173.03. The stock had a trading volume of 4,114,899 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,072,895. The company has a market capitalization of $35.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.87, a PEG ratio of 5.82 and a beta of 0.37. The Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $140.13 and a 1-year high of $211.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $160.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $178.37.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. On average, analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Hershey's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $396,936. This trade represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Hershey Profile

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.