Hershey Company (The) $HSY Shares Sold by Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund cut its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 6.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 67,419 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,000 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Hershey were worth $12,269,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Friedenthal Financial grew its holdings in Hershey by 38,266.7% in the fourth quarter. Friedenthal Financial now owns 5,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 5,740 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its stake in Hershey by 9.4% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 60,978 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,406,000 after purchasing an additional 5,239 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 833.3% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 185,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,940,000 after purchasing an additional 165,458 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 408,295 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,372,000 after purchasing an additional 6,029 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at $2,744,000. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 57,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,198,599.50. This represents a 2.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $184.42 on Friday. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $160.07 and a 1-year high of $239.48. The company has a market capitalization of $37.41 billion, a PE ratio of 34.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.09. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $194.51 and a 200-day moving average of $198.75.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 28.98% and a net margin of 9.12%.The company’s revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 108.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on HSY shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Hershey from $211.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $240.00 price target on Hershey in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Hershey from $247.00 to $227.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Hershey from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Hershey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $218.06.

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.