Norges Bank Invests $5.62 Million in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 33,173 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,618,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its holdings in Hershey by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 39,387 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,670,000 after acquiring an additional 2,365 shares during the period. NEOS Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 25.6% during the fourth quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 6,073 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,028,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 30.5% in the fourth quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 15,603 shares of the company's stock worth $2,642,000 after purchasing an additional 3,643 shares during the last quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 15,138 shares of the company's stock worth $2,564,000 after purchasing an additional 2,025 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 242,147 shares of the company's stock worth $40,930,000 after buying an additional 28,063 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

HSY has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Hershey from $173.00 to $165.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler lowered Hershey from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $163.05.

Hershey Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE HSY traded down $0.05 on Tuesday, reaching $170.26. 147,114 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,949,731. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $167.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $171.00. The Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $140.13 and a 12 month high of $211.92. The company has a market cap of $34.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Hershey's payout ratio is 50.28%.

Insider Activity at Hershey

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 value of $41,144.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.