Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. Buys 8,215 Shares of Hershey Company (The) $HSY

Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. raised its stake in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 188,525 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,215 shares during the quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. owned 0.09% of Hershey worth $29,714,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HSY. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the second quarter worth $2,303,889,000. GQG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Hershey during the 2nd quarter valued at $485,436,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Hershey by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,395,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,141,000 after buying an additional 127,113 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Hershey by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,210,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $251,706,000 after acquiring an additional 19,772 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Hershey by 315.4% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,083,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,285,000 after acquiring an additional 822,772 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $174.12 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $156.16 and a 12-month high of $239.48. The company has a market cap of $35.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.15, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.08. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $168.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $187.96.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $2.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.53. The firm had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.25 billion. Hershey had a net margin of 14.63% and a return on equity of 37.12%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.30 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Hershey Company will post 8.63 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be issued a $1.4520 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $5.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on HSY shares. Deutsche Bank set a $173.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, October 30th. UBS Group cut their target price on Hershey from $178.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on Hershey from $212.00 to $206.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Evercore upped their price target on Hershey from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $201.00 price target (down from $208.00) on shares of Hershey in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $193.81.

Hershey Company Profile

The Hershey Company is a global confectionery company best known for its chocolate and candy products. Milton S. Hershey established the Hershey Chocolate Company in 1894, and the company is headquartered in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Its portfolio includes chocolate bars, packaged candy, gum, mints and other snacks. Well-known brands include Hershey’s, Reese’s, Kisses, Jolly Rancher and Ice Breakers; the company also sells salty snacks under brands such as SkinnyPop and Dot’s Pretzels. Hershey sells its products primarily in North America and also serves consumers in international markets through its operations and distribution partners.