Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Increases Stock Holdings in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• Fjarde AP Fonden increased its Hershey stake by 62.1% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 109,319 shares valued at about $22.7 million.
• Hershey’s latest earnings beat expectations, with Q1 EPS of $2.35 versus the $2.04 forecast and revenue of $3.10 billion, up 10.7% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: the stock’s consensus rating is Hold, with a consensus price target of $217.50, while Hershey also recently paid a quarterly dividend of $1.452 per share for a 3.2% yield.

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund boosted its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 62.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 109,319 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 41,900 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund owned 0.05% of Hershey worth $22,726,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators bought a new position in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,633,000. Prudential PLC boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 237.3% during the fourth quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 7,988 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,454,000 after purchasing an additional 5,620 shares in the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 38,266.7% during the fourth quarter. Friedenthal Financial now owns 5,755 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 5,740 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth $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 worth $33,940,000 after purchasing an additional 165,458 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 54,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,485,753.85. This trade represents a 2.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on HSY shares. Zacks Research lowered Hershey from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $211.00 to $204.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $217.50.

Hershey Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $182.20 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $185.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $198.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.93, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.11. Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $160.07 and a 12-month high of $239.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.09 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 8.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were given a dividend of $1.452 per share. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Hershey's dividend payout ratio is 108.19%.

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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