Pinebridge Investments L.P. Grows Stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Pinebridge Investments L.P. boosted its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 23.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 36,742 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 7,096 shares during the period. Pinebridge Investments L.P.'s holdings in Hershey were worth $6,222,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 31.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 12,460,147 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,110,126,000 after acquiring an additional 2,980,997 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Hershey by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,635,390 shares of the company's stock worth $785,003,000 after purchasing an additional 247,675 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Hershey by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,801,145 shares of the company's stock valued at $642,139,000 after purchasing an additional 47,394 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,282,681 shares of the company's stock valued at $217,222,000 after buying an additional 87,498 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,096,767 shares of the company's stock worth $185,743,000 after buying an additional 132,019 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on HSY. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $178.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Hershey from $159.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $163.35.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the transaction, 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 SEC, which is available at this link. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY traded down $0.81 on Friday, reaching $163.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 981,800 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,783,201. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.97, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.28. The Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $140.13 and a 52-week high of $211.92. The stock's 50-day moving average is $169.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) 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, sell-side analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.36%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.28%.

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.