OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd Buys Shares of 2,243 Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY)

Key Points

• OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd has purchased a new position in Hershey Company, acquiring 2,243 shares valued at approximately $384,000 during the 1st quarter.
• Insider activity shows that CEO Michele Buck sold 31,210 shares for about $5 million, while other executives also reduced their holdings in the company.
• Hershey’s stock price target was raised by multiple analysts, with Bank of America increasing it from $175 to $208, while most ratings remain at "hold."

OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,243 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $384,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Hershey by 31.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 12,460,147 shares of the company's stock worth $2,110,126,000 after purchasing an additional 2,980,997 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Hershey by 18,311.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,010,616 shares of the company's stock worth $1,728,460,000 after acquiring an additional 1,005,127 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Hershey by 6,721.3% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 819,446 shares of the company's stock worth $140,150,000 after acquiring an additional 807,433 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Hershey by 38.6% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,628,047 shares of the company's stock worth $275,710,000 after acquiring an additional 453,428 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Value Partners Investments Inc. increased its stake in Hershey by 1,266.3% in the 1st quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 214,794 shares of the company's stock worth $36,777,000 after acquiring an additional 199,073 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HSY traded down $1.45 on Tuesday, reaching $188.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,109,049 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,995,665. The stock's 50-day moving average is $171.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $166.56. Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $140.13 and a 52-week high of $208.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.09, a PEG ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 0.27.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.23. Hershey had a net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 37.36%. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.27 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.78%.

Insider Activity at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $900,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 61,319 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,037,420. This trade represents a 7.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 974 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.11, for a total transaction of $153,025.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $470,387.34. This trade represents a 24.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 118,311 shares of company stock valued at $20,931,348 over the last 90 days. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on HSY. Wall Street Zen upgraded Hershey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Hershey from $173.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Hershey from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America increased their price objective on Hershey from $175.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on Hershey from $173.00 to $165.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $169.68.

About Hershey

The Hershey Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of confectionery products and pantry items in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: North America Confectionery, North America Salty Snacks, and International. It offers chocolate and non-chocolate confectionery products; gum and mint refreshment products, including mints, chewing gums, and bubble gums; protein bars; pantry items, such as baking ingredients, toppings, beverages, and sundae syrups; and snack items comprising spreads, bars, snack bites, mixes, popcorn, and pretzels.