Hershey Company (The) $HSY Stock Position Increased by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 14.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 278,913 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,274 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned approximately 0.14% of Hershey worth $50,757,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Hershey during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the third quarter worth $35,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, WHI TRUST Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE:HSY opened at $184.12 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $196.96 and a 200-day moving average of $198.76. The firm has a market cap of $37.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $158.67 and a twelve month high of $239.48.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 9.12% and a return on equity of 28.98%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. Analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $1.452 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Hershey’s payout ratio is 108.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HSY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $240.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $247.00 to $227.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Evercore upgraded shares of Hershey from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $255.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $218.06.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.10, for a total transaction 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 $11,198,599.50. This represents a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company 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.