Hershey Company (The) $HSY Shares Acquired by Prudential PLC

Key Points

• Prudential PLC sharply increased its stake in Hershey by 237.3% in the fourth quarter, buying 5,620 more shares and lifting its total holding to 7,988 shares worth about $1.45 million.
• Hershey beat first-quarter expectations, reporting earnings of $2.35 per share versus the $2.04 estimate, with revenue of $3.10 billion also topping forecasts and rising 10.7% from a year earlier.
• The company continues to return cash to shareholders with a quarterly dividend of $1.452 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 3.1%, though the payout ratio is high at 108.19%.

Prudential PLC grew its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 237.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,988 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,620 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC's holdings in Hershey were worth $1,454,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vise Technologies Inc. grew its position in shares of Hershey by 143.5% in the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 7,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,274,000 after purchasing an additional 4,125 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Hershey by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 23,901 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,350,000 after purchasing an additional 677 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Hershey by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 9,269 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,730,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the period. Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Hershey by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc. now owns 30,045 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,468,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the period. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Hershey by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 460 shares of the company's stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of HSY stock opened at $184.42 on Monday. 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's 50-day moving average is $194.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $198.89. Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $160.07 and a 12 month high of $239.48. The company has a market capitalization of $37.41 billion, a PE ratio of 34.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.09.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last issued 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 net margin of 9.12% and a return on equity of 28.98%. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.09 earnings per share. Hershey's quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.452 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $5.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Hershey's payout ratio is 108.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.10, for a total transaction of $291,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 57,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,198,599.50. The trade was a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on HSY. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 4th. DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $230.00 to $208.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $215.00 to $200.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Hershey in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $218.06.

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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