Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Grows Stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 458,897 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,223 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned approximately 0.22% of Hershey worth $85,557,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Hershey by 1.5% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,911,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,983,427,000 after buying an additional 222,960 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Hershey by 9.1% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,489,322 shares of the company’s stock valued at $886,746,000 after buying an additional 290,920 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 57.2% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,648,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $613,352,000 after purchasing an additional 964,019 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 143.7% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,465,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $496,039,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453,819 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Hershey by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,779,549 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,052,000 after purchasing an additional 35,393 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:HSY opened at $182.45 on Thursday. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $178.82 and a 12-month high of $276.88. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $192.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $191.11. The company has a market capitalization of $37.21 billion, a PE ratio of 20.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.72 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 51.79% and a net margin of 16.67%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a $1.37 dividend. This is a boost from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.00%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.55%.

Insider Transactions at Hershey

In other news, insider Charles R. Raup sold 2,065 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.85, for a total value of $396,170.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 14,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,833,624.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.97, for a total value of $283,455.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 29,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,634,329.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Charles R. Raup sold 2,065 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.85, for a total value of $396,170.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,833,624.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,518 shares of company stock valued at $1,066,414 in the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Hershey from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $191.00 to $183.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Hershey from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $223.33.

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.