Janus Henderson Group PLC Boosts Holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 6.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,487,565 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 90,329 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Hershey were worth $289,327,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of HSY. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA raised its position in shares of Hershey by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 754 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 20.6% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 316 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,661 shares of the company’s stock worth $683,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Hershey by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 5,839 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,089,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, Mount Lucas Management LP increased its position in Hershey by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Mount Lucas Management LP now owns 9,619 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,793,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. 57.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Argus reduced their price target on shares of Hershey from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Hershey from $210.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Hershey from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Hershey from $197.00 to $192.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $179.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research note on Friday, June 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hershey has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $204.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Steven E. Voskuil sold 1,500 shares of Hershey stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.93, for a total value of $274,395.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 35,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,535,723.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold 4,500 shares of company stock worth $867,450 over the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hershey Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE HSY traded up $1.41 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $193.97. 1,717,985 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,851,236. The company has a 50 day moving average of $190.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $192.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.23 billion, a PE ratio of 19.08, a PEG ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 0.36. The Hershey Company has a 12 month low of $178.82 and a 12 month high of $235.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $3.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.33. Hershey had a return on equity of 50.15% and a net margin of 18.13%. The business had revenue of $3.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.11 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.96 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Hershey Company will post 9.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 16th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.31%.

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.