Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co Sells 10,000 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co cut its Hershey stake by 29.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 10,000 shares and leaving it with 23,500 shares valued at about $4.28 million.
• Hershey reported strong quarterly results, posting $2.35 EPS versus the $2.04 estimate and revenue of $3.10 billion, both ahead of expectations.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.452 per share, implying a 3.0% yield, while analysts currently rate the stock a Hold with an average target price of $218.06.

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co trimmed its holdings in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 29.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,500 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,000 shares during the period. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co's holdings in Hershey were worth $4,277,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Hershey by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,067,235 shares of the company's stock worth $3,469,855,000 after acquiring an additional 191,671 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Hershey by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,253,041 shares of the company's stock worth $1,356,681,000 after acquiring an additional 128,982 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Hershey by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,831,101 shares of the company's stock worth $876,434,000 after acquiring an additional 104,024 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Hershey by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,614,258 shares of the company's stock worth $301,947,000 after acquiring an additional 29,731 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Hershey by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,605,628 shares of the company's stock worth $300,333,000 after acquiring an additional 101,305 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hershey Stock Down 1.4%

Hershey stock opened at $194.19 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $39.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.16, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.07. Hershey Company has a 1-year low of $154.37 and a 1-year high of $239.48. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $197.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $198.45.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.03 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 28.98% and a net margin of 9.12%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.09 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $1.452 per share. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Hershey's payout ratio is currently 108.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Hershey from $185.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Mizuho dropped their target price on Hershey from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Hershey in a research report on Monday, April 13th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Hershey in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $211.00 to $204.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $218.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

About Hershey

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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