478,170 Shares in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Acquired by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 478,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $80,978,000.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Piper Sandler cut shares of Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $189.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $164.15.

Hershey Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of HSY stock opened at $185.11 on Monday. The Hershey Company has a 52-week low of $140.13 and a 52-week high of $211.92. The stock has a market cap of $37.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.98, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.32. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $161.48 and a 200-day moving average of $176.40.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $2.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be paid a $1.37 dividend. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is 50.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,682 shares in the company, valued at $396,936. This trade represents a 9.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.