The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Purchased by BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY - Free Report) by 101.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 68,512 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 34,526 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S's holdings in Hershey were worth $12,773,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HSY. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in Hershey during the third quarter worth $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Hershey during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. First Financial Corp IN acquired a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Highlander Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 125.3% in the 4th quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered Hershey from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $191.00 to $183.00 in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Hershey from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $208.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $213.06.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.83, for a total value of $278,745.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,728 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,196,824.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Hershey Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:HSY traded down $1.13 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $207.04. The stock had a trading volume of 1,180,793 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,934,106. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.33. The firm's 50 day moving average is $194.91 and its 200-day moving average is $191.80. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $178.82 and a 1 year high of $267.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.33. Hershey had a return on equity of 50.15% and a net margin of 18.13%. The firm had revenue of $3.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.96 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Hershey's payout ratio is 54.31%.

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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