Stonebridge Financial Group LLC Takes $685,000 Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $685,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Hershey by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,348,127,000 after acquiring an additional 386,670 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Hershey by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,387,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $841,476,000 after purchasing an additional 109,336 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,753,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $717,606,000 after buying an additional 35,688 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 66.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $186,571,000 after buying an additional 389,404 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Hershey by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 964,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $185,027,000 after buying an additional 29,507 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on HSY. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Piper Sandler lowered shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $153.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup raised shares of Hershey from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $159.00 to $154.00 in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $165.05.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $396,936. This trade represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Up 2.5 %

HSY opened at $158.34 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.53, a PEG ratio of 4.89 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $163.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $180.11. The Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $140.13 and a 12 month high of $211.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. Sell-side analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.46%. Hershey’s payout ratio is 50.28%.

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.