Hershey Company (The) $HSY Stock: Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Trims Stake

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group cut its Hershey stake 3.1% in the third quarter, selling 11,139 shares and ending the period with 350,176 shares valued at about $55.2 million.
• Hershey reported quarterly earnings of $2.64 per share, beating the $2.11 consensus estimate, while revenue of $3.28 billion topped forecasts and rose 3% year over year.
• Shares were trading at $167.21, down 2.4%; analysts’ consensus rating was “Hold,” with an average price target of $193.81. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.452 per share.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. trimmed its position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 3.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 350,176 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,139 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.17% of Hershey worth $55,191,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the second quarter valued at about $2,303,889,000. GQG Partners LLC bought a new position in Hershey during the second quarter worth about $485,436,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Hershey during the second quarter worth about $274,871,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Hershey by 1.7% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,210,466 shares of the company's stock worth $251,706,000 after acquiring an additional 19,772 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Hershey by 11.8% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,128,711 shares of the company's stock worth $198,032,000 after purchasing an additional 118,825 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Hershey Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $167.21 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $33.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.92, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $156.16 and a 12-month high of $239.48. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $168.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $188.75.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $2.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.53. The firm had revenue of $3.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.25 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 14.63% and a return on equity of 37.12%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.30 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.4520 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio is presently 65.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Hershey from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $194.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their target price on shares of Hershey from $166.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $183.00 to $166.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Hershey from $178.00 to $171.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Hershey presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $193.81.

About Hershey

The Hershey Company NYSE: HSY is a global confectionery and snack food manufacturer headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Founded by Milton S. Hershey in 1894, the company began as a chocolate producer and has grown into one of the largest branded snack businesses in North America.

Hershey's portfolio includes chocolate, non-chocolate confectionery, gum and mints, and salty snacks. Its brands include Hershey's, Reese's, Hershey's Kisses, Kit Kat in the United States under license from Nestlé, Jolly Rancher, Twizzlers, Ice Breakers, SkinnyPop and Dot's Pretzels.

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