2,654 Shares in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Acquired by Stevens Capital Management LP

Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 2,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $449,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 5.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,029,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,348,127,000 after purchasing an additional 386,670 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,635,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $785,003,000 after purchasing an additional 247,675 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,753,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $717,606,000 after purchasing an additional 35,688 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 66.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 972,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,571,000 after purchasing an additional 389,404 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 3.2% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 964,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $185,027,000 after purchasing an additional 29,507 shares during the period. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at $396,936. The trade was a 9.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of HSY stock opened at $167.38 on Monday. The Hershey Company has a 1 year low of $140.13 and a 1 year high of $211.92. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $162.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $174.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.29. Hershey had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 44.77%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HSY has been the subject of several research reports. Piper Sandler cut shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $153.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $178.00 price objective on shares of Hershey in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Hershey from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $163.75.

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.