Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas Has $23.21 Million Stock Position in Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Key Points

• Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas increased its Hershey stake by 47.8% in the fourth quarter, ending with 127,517 shares valued at about $23.2 million.
• Hershey reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.35 beating estimates and revenue of $3.10 billion topping forecasts, while revenue rose 10.7% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.452 per share, and analysts currently have a consensus rating of Hold with an average price target of $218.06.

Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas grew its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 47.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 127,517 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 41,241 shares during the quarter. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas owned about 0.06% of Hershey worth $23,206,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,067,235 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,469,855,000 after purchasing an additional 191,671 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,253,041 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,356,681,000 after purchasing an additional 128,982 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,831,101 shares of the company's stock valued at $876,434,000 after purchasing an additional 104,024 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake 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 buying an additional 29,731 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake 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 buying an additional 101,305 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

HSY opened at $198.08 on Thursday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $198.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $198.30. Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $154.37 and a 1 year high of $239.48. The company has a market capitalization of $40.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

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

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $1.452 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Hershey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 108.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on HSY. Evercore raised Hershey from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $255.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays dropped their price objective on Hershey from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Hershey from $212.00 to $200.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $240.00 price objective on Hershey in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Hershey from $211.00 to $204.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $218.06.

Insider Activity

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.10, for a total value of $291,150.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 57,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,198,599.50. This trade represents a 2.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available 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 corporate insiders.

Hershey Company 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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