Fifth Third Bancorp Has $11.83 Million Stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Fifth Third Bancorp lowered its stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 7.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 60,831 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,553 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings in Hershey were worth $11,832,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. First Financial Corp IN bought a new position in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Hershey in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Highlander Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Hershey by 125.3% during the 4th quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on HSY shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $213.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a report on Friday, March 15th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. BNP Paribas downgraded Hershey from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $208.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Hershey from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $191.00 to $183.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $212.78.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY traded up $2.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $197.92. 3,396,043 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,711,441. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $178.82 and a twelve month high of $275.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $40.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.87, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.33. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $191.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $190.76.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.33. Hershey had a return on equity of 51.79% and a net margin of 16.67%. The company had revenue of $3.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.96 earnings per share. Hershey's revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Hershey's payout ratio is currently 60.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $296,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 40,228 shares in the company, valued at $7,961,121.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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