The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Shares Sold by Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH

Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH decreased its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 10,779 shares of the company’s stock after selling 494 shares during the quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH’s holdings in Hershey were worth $1,825,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $558,000. Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Hershey by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 12,825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,172,000 after buying an additional 1,426 shares in the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new stake in Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $177,000. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in Hershey by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 22,793 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,860,000 after buying an additional 1,991 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadcap Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 51.2% during the fourth quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,879 shares of the company’s stock valued at $488,000 after purchasing an additional 975 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Stock Performance

Shares of HSY stock opened at $158.49 on Friday. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $209.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $166.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $167.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $2.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.81 billion. Hershey had a return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.07 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Hershey’s payout ratio is currently 67.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on HSY shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Hershey from $183.00 to $177.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Piper Sandler lowered Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $153.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group lowered their target price on Hershey from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Hershey from $178.00 to $175.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Hershey from $184.00 to $148.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $161.40.

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.