Fisher Asset Management LLC Purchases 2,766 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 190.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,216 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,766 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $767,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Hershey by 6.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,618,000 after buying an additional 937 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Hershey by 20.2% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 697 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new position in Hershey during the second quarter worth about $267,000. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in Hershey by 4.5% during the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 17,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,975,000 after purchasing an additional 769 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in Hershey by 5.4% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 22,247 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,692,000 after purchasing an additional 1,149 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the subject of several analyst reports. Mizuho cut their target price on Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Hershey from $247.00 to $227.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Stephens increased their price objective on Hershey from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Hershey from $185.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Hershey in a research note on Monday, April 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $218.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.10, for a total value of $291,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 57,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,198,599.50. This trade represents a 2.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Hershey stock opened at $194.19 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $197.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $198.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $154.37 and a 12-month high of $239.48.

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. Hershey had a net margin of 9.12% and a return on equity of 28.98%. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $1.452 dividend. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 108.19%.

Hershey 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.