130,098 Shares in Hershey Company (The) $HSY Purchased by Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension

Key Points

• Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension opened a new position in Hershey, buying 130,098 shares valued at about $23.7 million in the fourth quarter.
• Hershey reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.35 versus a $2.04 estimate and revenue of $3.10 billion, up 10.7% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.452 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 3.1%, while analysts currently rate the stock Hold on average with a target price of $218.33.

Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension purchased a new position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 130,098 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,675,000. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension owned approximately 0.06% of Hershey at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,067,235 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,469,855,000 after purchasing an additional 191,671 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,253,041 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,356,681,000 after purchasing an additional 128,982 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.9% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,614,258 shares of the company's stock valued at $301,947,000 after purchasing an additional 29,731 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 6.7% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,605,628 shares of the company's stock valued at $300,333,000 after purchasing an additional 101,305 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 3.7% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,473,427 shares of the company's stock valued at $275,605,000 after purchasing an additional 52,936 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Trading Down 2.9%

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $190.04 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $203.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $196.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.55 billion, a PE ratio of 35.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.07. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $150.04 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.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share 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 net margin of 9.12% and a return on equity of 28.98%. The company's revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.09 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.452 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Hershey's payout ratio is 108.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on HSY. TD Cowen raised shares of Hershey from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Hershey in a research note on Monday, April 13th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $240.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, May 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Stephens upped their price objective on Hershey from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $218.33.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, SVP Jason Reiman sold 2,000 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total transaction of $452,140.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 41,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,277,008.52. The trade was a 4.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 3,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.07, for a total transaction of $791,245.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 34,568 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,814,787.76. This trade represents a 9.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,000 shares of company stock worth $2,189,090. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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