Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Has $2.93 Million Stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 204.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 15,736 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,559 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s holdings in Hershey were worth $2,934,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 7.8% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 3,285.7% in the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 474 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 460 shares during the period. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 12.8% in the third quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $354,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 50.2% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 26,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,240,000 after buying an additional 8,758 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 25.1% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 88,008 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,609,000 after buying an additional 17,631 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of HSY opened at $186.23 on Friday. The Hershey Company has a 52 week low of $178.82 and a 52 week high of $276.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.58, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $191.74 and a 200-day moving average of $190.64.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.72 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 51.79% and a net margin of 16.67%. Hershey’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.02 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.94%. This is an increase from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.55%.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $296,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 40,228 shares in the company, valued at $7,961,121.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total transaction of $89,938.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $369,681.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $296,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 40,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,961,121.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,453 shares of company stock worth $665,534 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley cut Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $191.00 to $183.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, BNP Paribas cut Hershey from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $208.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $223.33.

Hershey Profile

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.