Hershey (NYSE:HSY – Free Report) had its price objective reduced by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $252.00 to $249.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning, FlyOnTheWall reports.
Several other research firms have also commented on HSY. VNET Group reaffirmed a maintains rating on shares of Hershey in a report on Tuesday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an inline rating in a research report on Friday, April 28th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, April 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $251.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Friday, April 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Hershey from $243.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Friday, April 28th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $264.17.
Hershey Price Performance
Shares of HSY opened at $238.80 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.81 billion, a PE ratio of 28.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.47. Hershey has a 1-year low of $211.49 and a 1-year high of $276.88. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $259.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $247.83.
Hershey Announces Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 19th were issued a $1.036 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 18th. This represents a $4.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.74%. Hershey’s payout ratio is 50.24%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey
In other Hershey news, major shareholder Hershey Trust Co Trustee In Tr sold 117,174 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.58, for a total value of $30,650,374.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,138,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $559,369,211.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Hershey news, major shareholder Hershey Trust Co Trustee In Tr sold 117,174 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.58, for a total value of $30,650,374.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,138,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $559,369,211.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jason Reiman sold 150 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $273.49, for a total transaction of $41,023.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 15,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,300,630.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 295,932 shares of company stock worth $77,282,418. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Trading of Hershey
Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HSY. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $411,828,000. GQG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hershey in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $382,212,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 2,693.0% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,094,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,156,000 after buying an additional 1,055,559 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew 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 buying an additional 964,019 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Hershey by 36.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,378,426 shares of the company’s stock valued at $319,202,000 after buying an additional 369,940 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.96% of the company’s stock.
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; pantry items, such as baking ingredients, toppings, beverages, and sundae syrups; and snack items comprising spreads, bars, snack bites, mixes, popcorn, and pretzels.
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