Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. Buys New Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 100,190 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,967,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of HSY. Capital International Investors raised its position in Hershey by 31.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 12,460,147 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,110,126,000 after purchasing an additional 2,980,997 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,635,390 shares of the company's stock valued at $785,003,000 after buying an additional 247,675 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,801,145 shares of the company's stock valued at $642,139,000 after buying an additional 47,394 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Hershey by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,282,681 shares of the company's stock worth $217,222,000 after buying an additional 87,498 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Hershey by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company's stock worth $186,571,000 after acquiring an additional 389,404 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Hershey from $159.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Hershey from $183.00 to $177.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Piper Sandler downgraded Hershey from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $163.35.

Hershey Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE HSY traded down $2.32 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $164.28. 295,721 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,779,778. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $140.13 and a 12 month high of $211.92. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $169.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $170.06. The company has a market capitalization of $33.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.06, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.28.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.34%. Hershey's payout ratio is 50.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares of the company's stock, valued at $396,936. This represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Hershey Company 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.