Swiss National Bank Has $87.37 Million Stock Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Swiss National Bank trimmed its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 468,600 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,100 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.23% of Hershey worth $87,366,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of HSY. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA increased its position in shares of Hershey by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 754 shares of the company's stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its stake in Hershey by 1.1% in the third quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 5,258 shares of the company's stock worth $1,052,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 5,839 shares of the company's stock worth $1,089,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,428 shares of the company's stock valued at $272,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hershey by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,138 shares of the company's stock valued at $212,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.83, for a total value of $278,745.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 38,728 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,196,824.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hershey Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE HSY traded up $2.04 during trading on Friday, reaching $197.92. 3,396,043 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,711,441. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $178.82 and a fifty-two week 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 firm has a market cap of $40.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.33. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $191.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $190.76.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $3.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.11 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 16.67% and a return on equity of 51.79%. The firm's revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.96 EPS. Analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Hershey's dividend payout ratio is 54.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on HSY shares. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Hershey from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $191.00 to $183.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus upped 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Hershey from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $213.00 price target on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, March 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $212.78.

Hershey Profile

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.