Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC Buys Shares of 4,900 Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 4,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,019,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of HSY. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,067,235 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,469,855,000 after acquiring an additional 191,671 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its position in Hershey by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 9,106,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,657,189,000 after acquiring an additional 169,660 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in Hershey by 1.8% during 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 last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Hershey by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,315,653 shares of the company’s stock valued at $967,343,000 after purchasing an additional 124,464 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hershey Stock Up 1.3%

HSY opened at $174.43 on Friday. Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $161.43 and a fifty-two week high of $239.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $180.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $196.79. The company has a market capitalization of $35.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.11.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced 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 net margin of 9.12% and a return on equity of 28.98%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 8.42 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a dividend of $1.452 per share. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. Hershey’s payout ratio is 108.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on HSY shares. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $200.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, May 1st. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Hershey from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Hershey from $247.00 to $227.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on Hershey from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $208.28.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.43, for a total value of $260,145.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 54,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,485,753.85. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hershey 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.