The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Bought by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 91.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 91,779 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 43,836 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Hershey were worth $17,111,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. acquired a new position in Hershey in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in Hershey in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. First Financial Corp IN purchased a new position in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its stake in shares of Hershey by 121.3% in the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total value of $89,938.62. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $369,681.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total transaction of $89,938.62. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $369,681.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.90, for a total value of $296,850.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 40,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,961,121.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,453 shares of company stock valued at $670,244. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on HSY. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $213.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Barclays lifted 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. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Hershey from $213.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. BNP Paribas cut 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. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price 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 issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $223.33.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $184.86 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The Hershey Company has a twelve month low of $178.82 and a twelve month high of $276.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $192.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $191.07. The stock has a market cap of $37.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.34.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.72 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 51.79% and a net margin of 16.67%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.02 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.96%. This is a positive change from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 60.55%.

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.