Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension Sells 12,363 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension cut its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 9.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 117,735 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,363 shares during the quarter. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension’s holdings in Hershey were worth $24,476,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators bought a new stake in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth about $9,633,000. Prudential PLC grew its position in shares of Hershey by 237.3% during the 4th quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 7,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,454,000 after acquiring an additional 5,620 shares during the period. Friedenthal Financial grew its position in shares of Hershey by 38,266.7% during the 4th quarter. Friedenthal Financial now owns 5,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,047,000 after acquiring an additional 5,740 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,744,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 833.3% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 185,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,940,000 after purchasing an additional 165,458 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Price Performance

NYSE:HSY opened at $175.32 on Tuesday. Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $161.29 and a 52-week high of $239.48. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $183.34 and a 200 day moving average of $197.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.11.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 28.98% and a net margin of 9.12%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.09 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 8.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $1.452 dividend. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 108.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Evercore upgraded Hershey from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $255.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Hershey from $212.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on Hershey from $249.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $214.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.43, for a total transaction of $260,145.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 54,695 shares in the company, valued at $9,485,753.85. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hershey Company Profile

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) is a leading North American chocolatier and snack manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The company develops, produces and markets a wide range of confectionery and snack products for retail, foodservice and international customers. Hershey’s business spans manufacturing, branded product marketing, packaging and distribution across grocery, convenience, mass merchant and e-commerce channels.

Hershey’s product portfolio centers on chocolate and sugar confectionery, including core brands such as Hershey’s, Reese’s, Hershey’s Kisses and Twizzlers, alongside non-chocolate snacks and confectionery brands.