Hsbc Holdings PLC Boosts Holdings in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 12.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 330,842 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 37,719 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $68,751,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 123.0% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.43, for a total value of $260,145.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on HSY. Barclays dropped their price target on Hershey from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Zacks Research cut shares of Hershey from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Hershey from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded shares of Hershey to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $212.56.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE:HSY opened at $171.50 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $182.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $197.24. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $161.43 and a 1-year high of $239.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.94, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.11.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during 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 was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. Analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 8.42 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

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

About Hershey

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.