Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Buys 9,387 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd grew its position in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 41.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,933 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,387 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in Hershey were worth $6,819,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators bought a new position in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at about $9,633,000. Prudential PLC grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 237.3% in the fourth quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 7,988 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,454,000 after acquiring an additional 5,620 shares during the period. Friedenthal Financial grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 38,266.7% in the fourth quarter. Friedenthal Financial now owns 5,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,047,000 after acquiring an additional 5,740 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,744,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 126.4% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 84,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,508,000 after purchasing an additional 47,017 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on HSY shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $204.00 to $191.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 13th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Hershey from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Hershey from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $212.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were 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 approximately $9,485,753.85. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $171.48 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.24. The company has a market cap of $34.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.11. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $181.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $197.16. Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $161.43 and a 52-week high of $239.48.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 8.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $1.452 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend 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.