Amiral Gestion Purchases Shares of 12,933 The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Amiral Gestion bought a new position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 12,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,190,000. Hershey comprises approximately 1.4% of Amiral Gestion's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 4,500 shares of the company's stock worth $762,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A now owns 3,240 shares of the company's stock worth $549,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 5,546 shares of the company's stock valued at $939,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 42.5% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 238 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 5,438 shares of the company's stock valued at $921,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Hershey from $167.00 to $155.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Hershey from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Hershey from $183.00 to $177.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $173.00 to $165.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $162.15.

Hershey Stock Performance

NYSE HSY traded down $2.31 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $155.92. The stock had a trading volume of 1,248,391 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,788,522. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $164.41 and a 200 day moving average of $166.70. The stock has a market cap of $31.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $140.13 and a 52-week high of $208.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.96.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $2.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.81 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. Hershey's revenue for the quarter was down 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.07 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 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 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.51%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio is currently 67.57%.

Hershey Company 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.