Swiss National Bank Has $70.65 Million Stock Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Swiss National Bank cut its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 417,200 shares of the company's stock after selling 20,900 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.21% of Hershey worth $70,653,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in HSY. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Hershey by 248.0% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 174 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Hershey during the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Hershey by 61.7% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 262 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, City State Bank boosted its stake in Hershey by 210.0% during the 4th quarter. City State Bank now owns 310 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the firm's 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 in the company, valued at $396,936. This trade represents a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded shares of Hershey from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $159.00 to $154.00 in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Bernstein Bank reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $178.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $163.75.

Hershey Price Performance

Hershey stock traded down $1.75 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $167.67. 1,705,125 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,065,614. The firm has a market cap of $33.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.38, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. 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 firm's 50-day simple moving average is $162.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $175.43. The Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $140.13 and a 1-year high of $211.92.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.27%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

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.