Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Raises Holdings in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its Hershey stake by 929.7% in the first quarter, acquiring 54,453 additional shares and ending with a position worth $12.5 million. Institutional investors collectively own 57.96% of HSY.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: Hershey has a consensus “Hold” rating from 23 analysts, with a consensus price target of $208.28, despite several recent target-price reductions.
• Hershey exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.35 in EPS versus $2.04 expected and $3.10 billion in revenue, up 10.7% year over year. Shares opened at $183.53, while the CFO separately sold 1,500 shares under a pre-arranged trading plan.

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 929.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 60,310 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 54,453 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund's holdings in Hershey were worth $12,538,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HSY. Syon Capital LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 3,020 shares of the company's stock valued at $550,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Haverford Trust Co increased its position in shares of Hershey by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 6,796 shares of the company's stock worth $1,237,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,561 shares of the company's stock valued at $466,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 8,034 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,462,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abacus Planning Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 1,407 shares of the company's stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on HSY. Evercore set a $225.00 target price on Hershey in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Hershey from $215.00 to $180.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Mizuho dropped their price target on Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Hershey from $220.00 to $208.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $208.28.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY stock opened at $183.53 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $179.94 and a 200 day moving average of $196.93. Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $161.43 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.11.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 28.98% and a net margin of 9.12%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.09 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Hershey Company will post 8.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $255,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 53,195 shares in the company, valued at $9,043,150. This represents a 2.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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