Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Grows Position in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,635,390 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 247,675 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $785,003,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of HSY. Mission Wealth Management LP purchased a new position in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at about $738,000. Silver Coast Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Hershey by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Silver Coast Investments LLC now owns 3,898 shares of the company’s stock valued at $660,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. DJE Kapital AG purchased a new position in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,040,000. Eliot Finkel Investment Counsel LLC boosted its holdings in Hershey by 36.2% during the 4th quarter. Eliot Finkel Investment Counsel LLC now owns 21,460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,634,000 after acquiring an additional 5,700 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at about $141,000. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total value of $41,144.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $396,936. This trade represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HSY has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $178.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Bernstein Bank lowered their target price on Hershey from $177.00 to $146.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Piper Sandler lowered Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson reduced their price target on Hershey from $164.00 to $149.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on Hershey from $190.00 to $172.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $164.15.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HSY opened at $178.77 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.96. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $140.13 and a fifty-two week high of $211.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.19 billion, a PE ratio of 16.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.37. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $160.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $176.87.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.07%. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.28%.

Hershey Company 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.