4,500 Shares in The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) Bought by Board of the Pension Protection Fund

Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in shares of The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 4,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $762,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hershey by 2.1% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 34,942 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,423,000 after buying an additional 709 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Hershey by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,320 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,081,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Hershey by 23.2% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 783,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,962,000 after purchasing an additional 147,215 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its stake in Hershey by 10.4% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $119,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in Hershey during the 2nd quarter valued at $82,123,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HSY has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays decreased their target price on Hershey from $202.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Hershey from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Hershey from $165.00 to $159.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Hershey from $195.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Hershey in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $182.21.

Hershey Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of Hershey stock opened at $155.62 on Wednesday. The Hershey Company has a 12-month low of $154.46 and a 12-month high of $211.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.93, a PEG ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $173.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $185.04.

Hershey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $1.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $5.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.52%. Hershey’s payout ratio is presently 63.13%.

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.