Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Boosts Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 91.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 91,779 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 43,836 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Hershey were worth $17,111,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in HSY. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 3.1% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 30,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,665,000 after purchasing an additional 916 shares during the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Hershey during the first quarter worth $238,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 28.8% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 1.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,057,990 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,045,383,000 after purchasing an additional 216,715 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. lifted its position in shares of Hershey by 10.8% during the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 32,183 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,972,000 after purchasing an additional 3,129 shares during the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on HSY shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Hershey from $185.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Hershey from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Hershey from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Hershey from $200.00 to $179.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded Hershey from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $191.00 to $183.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $223.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.97, for a total value of $283,455.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 29,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,634,329.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 453 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.54, for a total value of $89,938.62. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $369,681.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.97, for a total transaction of $283,455.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 29,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,634,329.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,453 shares of company stock worth $670,244. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hershey Price Performance

Shares of HSY stock opened at $184.86 on Friday. The Hershey Company has a fifty-two week low of $178.82 and a fifty-two week high of $276.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.43, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $192.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $191.07.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.07. Hershey had a return on equity of 51.79% and a net margin of 16.67%. The business had revenue of $2.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.02 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were issued a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 16th. This is an increase from Hershey’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 60.55%.

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; 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.