Invesco Ltd. Acquires 87,498 Shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY)

Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,282,681 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 87,498 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd.’s holdings in Hershey were worth $217,222,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hershey during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in Hershey in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Hershey by 248.0% during the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in Hershey during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 61.7% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 262 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hershey

In other Hershey news, CAO Jennifer Mccalman sold 278 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.00, for a total transaction of $41,144.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,682 shares of the company’s stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hershey Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $165.56 on Friday. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $140.13 and a 12-month high of $211.92. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $167.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $171.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.19, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.28.

Hershey (NYSE:HSY) last issued 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 return on equity of 44.77% and a net margin of 19.83%. Analysts predict that The Hershey Company will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Hershey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Hershey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on HSY shares. Piper Sandler lowered Hershey from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $153.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Hershey from $170.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Hershey from $150.00 to $134.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Hershey from $171.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and sixteen have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hershey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $162.50.

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.