Fifth Third Bancorp Acquires 47,017 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 126.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 84,215 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 47,017 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings in Hershey were worth $17,508,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators acquired a new stake in Hershey during the 4th quarter worth $9,633,000. Prudential PLC raised its position in shares of Hershey by 237.3% in the fourth quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 7,988 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,454,000 after buying an additional 5,620 shares during the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 5,740 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the fourth quarter worth about $2,744,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Hershey by 833.3% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 185,314 shares of the company's stock worth $33,940,000 after acquiring an additional 165,458 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.43, for a total value 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Hershey from $249.00 to $200.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Hershey from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 4th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Hershey in a report on Monday, April 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Finally, Evercore raised Hershey from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $255.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $214.06.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $175.32 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.11. 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 $183.34 and a 200 day moving average of $197.57. Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $161.29 and a 12 month high of $239.48.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Hershey had a net margin of 9.12% and a return on equity of 28.98%. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 8.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

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

Hershey 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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