Hershey Company (The) $HSY Shares Bought by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 9.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 205,428 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,291 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. owned about 0.10% of Hershey worth $42,705,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of HSY. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $272,506,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 546.6% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,057,476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $192,439,000 after acquiring an additional 893,940 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 150.1% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,278,881 shares of the company’s stock valued at $232,731,000 after acquiring an additional 767,478 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 4,478.5% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 586,141 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,666,000 after acquiring an additional 573,339 shares during the period. Finally, Readystate Asset Management LP bought a new stake in Hershey during the fourth quarter worth approximately $72,001,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,485,753.85. This represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY opened at $171.50 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $34.79 billion, a PE ratio of 31.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $182.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $197.13. Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $161.43 and a fifty-two week high of $239.48.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.31. Hershey had a return on equity of 28.98% and a net margin of 9.12%.The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.09 earnings per share. Hershey’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 8.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $1.452 per share. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 108.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HSY has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group set a $190.00 target price on Hershey in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays cut their price objective on Hershey from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 4th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $212.56.

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.