The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Acquired by Markel Group Inc.

Markel Group Inc. grew its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 25.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 45,000 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,000 shares during the quarter. Markel Group Inc.'s holdings in Hershey were worth $7,621,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Hershey by 5.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company's stock worth $1,348,127,000 after buying an additional 386,670 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 247,675 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 1.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,753,751 shares of the company's stock valued at $717,606,000 after purchasing an additional 35,688 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Hershey by 66.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company's stock worth $186,571,000 after purchasing an additional 389,404 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in Hershey by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 964,748 shares of the company's stock worth $185,027,000 after purchasing an additional 29,507 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

HSY has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Bernstein Bank decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $178.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler cut Hershey from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $164.15.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY stock traded up $0.85 during trading on Thursday, hitting $171.79. 466,825 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,808,701. 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 1 year low of $140.13 and a 1 year high of $211.92. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $162.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $176.17. The company has a market cap of $34.77 billion, a PE ratio of 15.76, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32.

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

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.