Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension Has $24.48 Million Stock Holdings in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension trimmed its Hershey stake by 9.5% in the first quarter, selling 12,363 shares and ending with 117,735 shares valued at about $24.48 million.
• Hershey recently beat earnings expectations, reporting $2.35 EPS versus the $2.04 estimate and revenue of $3.10 billion, up 10.7% from a year earlier.
• Analysts remain cautious overall: Hershey has a consensus rating of Hold with an average price target of $214.06, while the stock recently traded around $175.32.

Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension decreased its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 9.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 117,735 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,363 shares during the period. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension owned 0.06% of Hershey worth $24,476,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators bought a new stake in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at about $9,633,000. Prudential PLC raised its stake in Hershey by 237.3% during the 4th quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 7,988 shares of the company's stock worth $1,454,000 after buying an additional 5,620 shares during the period. Friedenthal Financial boosted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,744,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Hershey by 833.3% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 185,314 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,940,000 after acquiring an additional 165,458 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Hershey from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Hershey in a report on Monday, April 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $204.00 to $191.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $247.00 to $227.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $214.06.

Hershey Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $175.32 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $35.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.65, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $161.29 and a 12-month high of $239.48. The business's 50 day moving average is $183.34 and its 200 day moving average is $197.57.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.31. Hershey had a return on equity of 28.98% and a net margin of 9.12%.The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. Hershey's quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 8.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $1.452 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio is currently 108.19%.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.43, for a total transaction of $260,145.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 54,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,485,753.85. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.08% of the stock is currently 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding HSY? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.