First Trust Advisors LP Has $60.56 Million Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 357,592 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,167 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.18% of Hershey worth $60,558,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp lifted its holdings in Hershey by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 4,500 shares of the company's stock worth $762,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A now owns 3,240 shares of the company's stock worth $549,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 5,546 shares of the company's stock valued at $939,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 42.5% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 238 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in Hershey by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 5,438 shares of the company's stock worth $921,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group increased their target price on Hershey from $159.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $163.35.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $41,144.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares of the company's stock, valued at $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE:HSY opened at $167.40 on Wednesday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $169.08 and its 200-day moving average is $170.08. The Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $140.13 and a 1-year high of $211.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market cap of $33.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.36, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 analysts' consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Hershey's payout ratio is presently 50.28%.

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.

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