Deutsche Bank AG Purchases 44,955 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 557,965 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 44,955 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG owned approximately 0.28% of Hershey worth $94,491,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Montag & Caldwell LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Hershey during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in Hershey during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Grove Bank & Trust raised its position in Hershey by 248.0% during the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 174 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in Hershey during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Bernstein Bank decreased their target price on shares of Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Hershey from $162.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $161.40.

Hershey Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of HSY stock traded up $2.06 during trading on Thursday, hitting $163.78. 1,230,663 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,766,895. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.03, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $167.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $168.12. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $140.13 and a twelve month high of $209.65.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.81 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.07 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Hershey's payout ratio is presently 67.57%.

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.