Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) Position Boosted by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Hershey Company (The) (NYSE:HSY) by 7.7% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 4,991,639 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 356,249 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $853,720,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter valued at $5,618,000. World Investment Advisors bought a new position in Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at about $221,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Hershey by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,282,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,222,000 after buying an additional 87,498 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in shares of Hershey by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 19,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,350,000 after buying an additional 885 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,000. Institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $188.59 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. Hershey Company has a one year low of $140.13 and a one year high of $208.03. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $171.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $166.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.21 billion, a PE ratio of 25.05, a PEG ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 0.27.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.23. Hershey had a net margin of 13.54% and a return on equity of 37.36%. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.27 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on HSY. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Hershey from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Barclays lifted their price target on Hershey from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Hershey from $135.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. DA Davidson set a $188.00 target price on Hershey and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Hershey from $175.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $169.68.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $900,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 61,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,037,420. The trade was a 7.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Rohit Grover sold 1,334 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $240,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 38,068 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,852,240. The trade was a 3.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 118,311 shares of company stock valued at $20,931,348. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.